Soul Eater X One Piece Collab Special! Defeat Bluebeard!
by XFangHeartX
Summary: Summary inside. Read and review, and no flames or hate, please! Contains OCs and spoilers. Don't like, then don't read. A collab fic between me and yellowpikmin88 on DeviantArt.
1. A New Assignment

The Soul Eater/One Piece Collaboration Special!

Defeat Bluebeard!

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This is a collaboration fic between me and yellowpikmin88 from DeviantArt. He and I will be taking turns writing the chapters, and I will upload the chapters he writes here.

Thank you and enjoy.

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One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

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Blizzard, Bluebeard, Shino Kurohana, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Marcus "Mark" Clayborne, William "Will" Clayborne, Juliet the White Witch © Me

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Summary- The DWMA Gang is on a mission like no other. Lord Death has sent them on a mission to collect the soul of a pirate known as Jules Blake, AKA Bluebeard. Bluebeard is wanted for committing felonious crimes, including eating human souls, which means he is running the risk of becoming a Kishin, himself. However, the gang learns that this pirate is not from their world, but is in a place known as "the New World", located in the Grand Line. Once there, Maka, Soul, and company run into the Straw Hat Pirates, and after a case of mistaken identity, they quickly befriend each other and decide to make an alliance to put a stop to Bluebeard once and for all. Romance and friendships shall form, sacrifices will be made, and humor…well, there's plenty of it! Get ready for an epic adventure when Soul Eater meets One Piece! Luffy/Nami, Zoro/Robin, Maka/Crona (male), and Black*Star/Tsubaki inside.

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(SPOILER ALERT: This takes place 8 months after Maka defeats the Kishin. Don't like spoilers, then don't read.)

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**Ch.1- A New Assignment: Depart for the New World?**

7:30 am.

A sunny morning in Death City. The blazing sun is high in the sky, laughing as the citizens went about their daily routine.

Right now, four of these citizens are on their way to a certain school: the Death Weapon Meister Academy. It is none other than Maka Albarn, Soul Eater Evans, and Crona Makenshi. And where is this fourth citizen, one might ask? Well, we'll see him in just a bit.

It's been almost 8 months since the defeat of the Kishin, and life seemed to be returning to normal. Of course, there are still some Kishin eggs that needed to be hunted every now and then, but aside from that, Maka, Soul, and Crona are enjoying their lives anyway they can. Right now, the trio is headed for school for class. Apparently, there's going to be a new teacher.

"I'm so excited to see who our new teacher is!" Maka said. "Aren't you, Soul?"

"I don't see what the big deal is, really," said Soul. "To be honest, though, anyone's probably better than Stein. Crazy old man, always tripping on the doorway with that chair of his."

"Soul, have some respect!" Maka scolded. "Honestly. What about you, Crona? Aren't you excited to see our new teacher?"

"I guess so," said Crona. "I'm a bit nervous, though, too. What if this new teacher doesn't like me?"

"Oh, Crona," Maka said as she placed a gentle hand on the former Demon Swordsman. "A sweet boy like you? What's not to like?"

"_Everything, if you ask me!"_ exclaimed a voice.

Suddenly, Crona gasped and tensed as a black blob came bursting out of his back and began to take a small, humanoid shape. It is revealed to be none other than his bullying weapon partner, Ragnarok.

"I mean look at him!" the demon sword said. "He's got PINK HAIR! What's up with that?!"

The little demon grabbed Crona's pink hair and began to pull on it, tightly, much to the sword Meister's surprise and pain.

"Ow!" Crona cried. "Ragnarok, stop it! Let go of my hair! You'll pull it out and make me bald! Bald people have smooth and shiny heads and I don't know how to deal with that!"

"Ragnarok, leave him alone!" Maka barked.

"And what are you gonna do if I don't?" asked Ragnarok.

"Oh, man, you asked for it," said Soul.

"Maka…CHOP!"

**BAM!** Maka landed a hard blow to Ragnarok's head with a book, making him shrink back into Crona's back.

"Thank you, Maka," said Crona.

"Anytime," Maka replied with a sweet smile, causing Crona to blush a light pink.

Before long, the group had arrived at the DWMA, where they are greeted by two of their good friends: Shino Kurohana, a One-Star Scythe Meister, and his weapon partner, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, the wolf-eared, double-wolf-tailed girl with the blood of both of a werewolf and a witch inside of her. She is also Crona's self-proclaimed adopted older sister.

Ever since Spike had killed and consumed the soul of her father, Dark Fang of the Blood Moon Clan, Spike has become more outgoing and confident. She and her partner have become rather popular at the school as of late, as well, due to being involved in the battle with the Kishin.

For some reason, though, Spike's expression seemed rather…grim.

"Hi, Shino!" Maka greeted. "Hi, Spike!"

Shino and Spike looked up upon hearing Maka greeting them, and while the former gave them a warm smile to greet them back, the latter's expression still looking rather pathetic than Crona, and that's saying something!

"Spike, are you feeling okay?" asked Maka, a bit concerned.

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Crona asked his big sister. "Me, especially?"

Spike didn't respond.

"Oh, no," Crona mumbled. "I think Spike hates me now! I don't think I can deal with this!"

"What?" Spike asked. "Oh, no, Crona! It's okay! I'm glad to see you! I'm always glad to see you!"

"Then…how come you're acting so…mope-y?" asked Crona, fiddling with his hands.

"I…I don't really wanna talk about it," Spike said. "Let's just hurry and get to our classroom. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get it over with."

With that, Spike entered the building with her Meister, plus Maka, Soul, and Crona following behind her.

"Uh…what the hell has Spike been smoking?" asked Soul.

"Soul!" Maka scolded.

"No, Maka, it's all right," Shino said before he heaved a sigh. "The truth is, she's been like this since last night. In fact, I literally had to drag her out of bed! I mean, I know she doesn't like coming to school, but she would never wanna miss one day of it unless she was sick or something."

"That's not like Spike at all," Maka muttered.

"I know," Soul agreed.

"You don't think that Spike is sick now, is she?" Crona asked.

Suddenly, Ragnarok came out of Crona's back, once again.

"I really hope so," he said. "It'd serve her right for giving me all those damn punches!"

"She only hits you because you deserve it, Ragnarok!" Maka barked. "And I don't blame her with the way you're always picking on Crona!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Ragnarok argued. "I don't do it as much anymore!"

"What about last week when you painted on Crona's face while he was asleep?" Maka questioned. "It took hours to wash that off!"

"He did look a bit funny with those polka dots," Soul muttered, trying to stifle his snickering so that Maka wouldn't hear him.

"It was just some old fashioned teasing," Ragnarok retorted. "Besides, Spike's little brothers were in on it, too!"

"What about the time you put glue in his socks, three days ago?" Shino questioned. "As well as yesterday when you pulled up his robe and you revealed his underwear to the whole class!"

"And need I remind you of this morning when-" Maka started, but Ragnarok quickly cut her off.

"Fine! I get it!" he said. "I'll cut down on the pranks! Sheesh!"

"Good," said Maka.

"Uh…Shino, where did Spike go?" Soul asked.

Shino looked ahead and saw that Spike had completely disappeared from sight.

"Oh, no, not again!" Shino exclaimed. "I can't look away from her for five seconds without her wandering off without me! You guys go on to class. I'll be there as soon as I find Spike."

"We'll see you there, then," said Soul.

"Tell her that we can sit and have lunch later," said Crona.

"You bet, Crona," said Shino before he ran off in search of his partner.

"You think Spike will be okay?" asked Soul.

"Knowing her, she probably will," said Maka. "Now let's go."

With that, the trio headed for Class Crescent Moon. Upon entering the classroom, they are soon met with the minor chitchat of the students. Apparently, the teacher had still not arrived yet, so that gave them some free time. Once Soul, Maka, and Crona took their seats, however, their free time soon ended, for the door opened to reveal a woman who appeared to be at least 46 years old wearing a clean white suit with a short white skirt, which had a little white rabbit sewn into the left side. She has long, sand-colored hair, almost like Maka's, only a bit longer than hers, and ruby red eyes. If one didn't know any better, he or she might say she looks like a grown-up version of Maka.

"Good morning, class!" the woman said as she went to the chalkboard, picked up a stick of chalk, and proceeded to scrawl her name on it. "I am Ms. Clayborne."

Everyone in the classroom gasped, but none of them are more surprised than Maka, Soul, Crona, and Ragnarok (who had chosen that moment to come out of his Meister's back, once again).

"It's Spike's mom. the White Witch!" one of the students whispered.

"It's Juliet!" whispered another.

Indeed it is. Juliet Clayborne, A.K.A "Juliet the White Witch". Aside from Kim Diehl, Juliet is the only known witch in history to have ever used her magic for good rather than destruction, and because of this, she had been labeled the number one enemy of all witches. She is also Spike's biological mother.

Ever since Spike had defeated her father, Juliet came out of hiding to help the DWMA do battle with the evil organization, Arachnephobia, as well as the Kishin. Now that the whole ordeal was finally over, Juliet had decided to settle down with Spike's two twin brothers, Marcus "Mark" Clayborne and William "Will" Clayborne, and get a new job in Death City, and apparently, this is it.

"So Ms. Clayborne is gonna be our new teacher?" asked Maka.

"Jeez, no wonder Mutt-Butt was trying to avoid coming to school," Ragnarok.

"Ragnarok, cut it out!" Crona whispered. "You're gonna make Spike's mother mad at us!"

"Still makes sense, though," said Soul. "I'd be embarrassed, too, if it was my Mom."

"Now then, class, today we're…" Juliet began, but then she trailed off. "Uh…Miss Albarn?"

"Yes, Ms. Clayborne?" asked Maka.

"Have you seen my daughter, Sicily, and her partner, Mr. Kurohana?" asked Juliet.

"Well, we saw them this morning," Maka answered. "Shino's in the middle of trying to get her here, right now."

"I see," Juliet said, although Maka couldn't help but notice that the White Witch sounded rather…disappointed.

Just then, the door swung open, and no sooner had it done so that a familiar figure came wheeling in, seated in a swivel chair. The chair ended up hitting the door frame, causing its owner to fall flat on his back, right on the floor with a **THUD!**

It is revealed to be none other than Dr. Franken Stein.

"Oh, good morning, class," said Stein, waving one hand to them while screwing the bolt in his head with the other.

"Oh, hello, Professor Stein," Juliet greeted the professor. "Can I help you with something?"

"Hmm?" Stein hummed. "Oh! Yes!"

Stein propped his swivel chair up and sat in it.

"Soul, Maka, and Crona," he said, not counting Ragnarok. "You're needed in the Death Room, immediately."

"Again?" Maka questioned, bewildered.

"Oh, what now?" Soul asked, irritably.

"Stein, it's my first day on the job and I just started class!" Juliet complained. "Can't this wait until later?"

"I'm afraid not," said Stein. "You know when Lord Death summons a student to the Death Room, they must go at once. Your daughter and her partner are already there."

Once again, Juliet put on a disappointed expression before she glanced Soul, Maka, Crona, and Ragnarok.

"Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn, Crona Makenshi, and Ragnarok," Juliet called them each by their full names. "You're excused from class."

"Yes, Ms. Clayborne," said Maka.

With that, the two Meisters and two weapons filed out of the classroom and headed straight for the Death Room.

_They're lucky I'm not giving them a pink slip,_ Juliet thought as she watched them leave. _Also…I feel like Sicily is trying to avoid coming to class…because of me._

"All right, class," said Juliet. "Today, we are studying the history of Soul Resonation. Please open your textbooks and turn to page 234."

XXX

7:45 am.

Later on, Maka, Soul, Crona, and Ragnarok have reached the Death Room, where they soon found that not only had Shino and Spike arrived there, but their friends, Black*Star, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Death the Kid, and the Thompson Sisters, Liz and Patty.

"Well, well," Kid said as he spotted the weapon and Meister pairs. "It appears we aren't the only one who have been summoned by my Father."

"Lord Death call you guys, too?" asked Patty.

"Yep," Soul answered.

"So what's going on?" Maka asked.

"Lord Death must have something important for us if he wanted us all here so quickly," Tsubaki answered. "To tell the truth, I was hoping we'd have just one day in class together."

"Whatever!" Black*Star exclaimed. "It's probably nothing too big for the great Black*Star to handle! YAHOO!"

"You and that overstuffed ego of yours," Soul said.

"Anyway, since we're all here, we might as well find out what Lord Death needs us for," Shino said. "Miss Maka? If you would be so kind?"

Maka giggled at Shino's gentlemanly charm before she approached the mirror. She breathed on it, creating a fog on the glass before she started to write down some numbers.

"42-42-564 whenever you wanna knock on Death's door."

A pause, but then, the mirror began to ripple and glow a light blue, and soon, Lord Death appeared in the glass.

"Good morning, Lord Death," Maka said.

"Ah! Maka! Good morning!" Lord Death greeted the Scythe Meister. "And of course, good morning to all of you, as well!"

"Lord Death, is there something you need?" Shino asked.

"Yes, something important?" Kid added.

"Ah, yes!" Lord Death said. "Children, I have your next assignment, but I must warn you, it's nothing like you or any other student at this school has had before!"

"A mission unlike any other?" Black*Star questioned before he flashed a toothy grin. "I'm interested, already."

"What's the scoop, Lord Death?" Spike asked.

"You children are off to hunt down a legendary pirate known as Jules Blake, otherwise known as 'Bluebeard'," Lord Death replied.

"Bluebeard?" Liz repeated.

"What a silly name!" Patty said with a giggle.

"It may sound silly," Lord Death said, "but believe me when I say this is no laughing matter. Bluebeard is wanted for committing many felonious crimes at sea, from plundering to robbery, and worse yet: murder. What's worse, his soul, as well as the souls of his crew, have strayed from the path of humanity. Their souls must be collected before they all turn into Kishin! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Death/Father," everyone answered.

"So, where is this guy?" asked Soul. "Is he sailing the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic?"

"Actually, Soul, Bluebeard doesn't come from this world," said Lord Death.

The gang looked rather surprised at those words.

"I-I'm sorry, Lord Death," Maka started, "but…what did you say?"

"He's not from this world?" Soul repeated, questioningly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" asked Black*Star.

"You're not really making much sense, Father," said Kid.

"I can't really go into much detail, now," said Lord Death. "I know you have class today, but when you get home tonight, I want you all to get plenty of rest, pack up your essentials the next morning, and depart immediately…for the New World."

The gang gaped at Lord Death in shock before glancing at each other.

_**~The next day~**_

9:00 am.

"Come on, Spike! We gotta go!"

"Hold your horses, will ya?!"

At Shino and Spike's house, located just on the outskirts of town, Spike had just packed up her dark violet Duffel bag full of extra clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc., and now she is finally ready to leave. She approached Shino, who is holding a beige knapsack over his shoulder.

"Let's head to my Mom's place so I can tell her and my brothers goodbye," said Spike. "Lord Death didn't say how long we're supposed to be gone, so I just wanna tell them, just in case we don't come back from…wherever we're going."

"Spike, speaking of your mom," Shino said, "I couldn't help but notice that she was a little upset something after you left to go to the bathroom…and you never came back until after class was over."

"Uh…I had tail problems," said Spike, flicking her two wolf tails.

"…Spike…did you try and skip class because, maybe, you knew your mom is gonna be our new teacher?" Shino asked with a look concern on his face.

A pause, but then Spike walked right passed Shino.

"Spike, I'm just asking," said Shino. "Are you mad at your mom or something-"

"If you're done talking, Shino Kurohana," Spike began, "I'd very much like to go to my Mom's place so I can say goodbye to her and my brothers, okay?! Besides, Maka and the others are waiting for us!"

Shino started at his partner for a moment before he heaved a sigh and followed her out the door.

XXX

9:28 am.

Shino and Spike had arrived at the Death Room at the DWMA, where they soon found Maka, Soul, and company waiting for them, all of them having luggage of their own. Lord Death stood there, as well.

"It's about time you guys decided to show up," Soul said. "What kept you?"

"Spike had to say goodbye to her mom and her brothers," Shino answered. "Who knows long we're gonna be gone, you know?"

"Or if we're coming back," Liz added.

"Oh, no," Crona said. "I hope we do find a way back home. I don't think I can deal with living in another world."

"Relax, Crona," Maka said as she put a hand on the Demon Swordsman's shoulder. "I'm sure Lord Death can bring us back home, safely. Right, Lord Death?"

"That's right!" Lord Death answered.

"Good," Maka said.

_Who knows how much homework I'll have to do when I get back home?_ she thought.

"So, Father," Kid said. "How, exactly, are we supposed to enter this 'New World'?"

"Simple, my boy!" Lord Death answered as he stepped aside and pointed to his mirror. "The mirror, of course!"

"The mirror?" Tsubaki repeated, puzzled.

"I'm confused," Patty said.

"How's the mirror supposed to get us there?" asked Black*Star.

"…it's a portal, right?" Maka asked.

"Ding-ding-ding!" Lord Death exclaimed. "Bravo, Maka! You've got it! My mirror will act as your doorway from here to the New World and back again!"

"YAHOO!" Black*Star shouted. "I hope that this New World place is ready for this big star!"

"Oh, Black*Star," Tsubaki muttered.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to see Spirit Albarn, Maka's father, running up to them, followed by Stein and another Death Scythe, Marie Mjolnir.

"Papa?" Maka asked. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Can't a father come to see his daughter off?" asked Spirit with a grin.

Maka smiled a little at her father before she approached him and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace, which Spirit returned. Ever since the defeat of the Kishin, Maka and Spirit have decided to at least try and put aside their differences and get their relationship as father and daughter back on the right track.

"Now, you be careful in this New World, all right, Maka?" Spirit asked. "I know you're strong, but…that doesn't mean I can't worry about you, understand?"

"Yes, Papa," Maka answered as she pulled away from him.

"And as for you, Soul Eater!" Spirit barked as he pointed at Soul. "You better not pull off any funny business around my Maka, you understand me?!"

"Why would I try anything funny with your hot-tempered daughter?" asked Soul.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Spirit questioned, angrily, although Soul didn't seem to pay it any mind. Crona, on the other hand, looked very nervous, but that nervousness soon disappeared when he felt Marie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Be good, okay, Crona?" asked Marie. "Listen to Maka and Spike, and don't talk to any strangers, understand?"

"Yes, Marie," Crona answered.

"And don't forget to contact us, once in a while," Stein added. "We'll be checking up on you every now and then."

Crona nodded his head in understanding.

"Is everyone ready to go?" asked Lord Death.

"Yes, Lord Death," Maka answered. "We're all ready."

"All right, then," Lord Death said before he turned to his mirror and breathed on it. Then, he drew an odd symbol on the glass with his finger. Then, the mirror seemed to glow and ripple.

"The portal is ready," Lord Death said as he turned to the gang. "When you've completed your mission, just call me, and I'll have it ready so it can bring you all back home. Good luck to you all!"

"We won't let you down, Lord Death," said Maka. "All right, guys! Let's go!"

"Yeah!" the others shouted in agreement before they entered the portal, one-by-one, Black*Star rushing in first, of course.

"YAHOO!" he shouted. "Look out, New World, here I come!"

"Black*Star, wait for me!" Tsubaki cried as she ran in after her Meister.

"Come along, ladies," Kid said as he walked through the portal with Liz and Patty following behind.

"See you later," Liz said.

"Bye-bye!" Patty called, waving as she disappeared through the portal.

Shino and Spike followed afterward.

"Lord Death," Spike said. "Tell my Mom…I'm sorry."

"Hmm?" Lord Death hummed, questioningly as Spike walked through the portal.

Maka, Soul, and Crona were the only ones left.

"Well, this is it, boys," she said.

Soul smirked.

"Let's do this," he said.

Crona swallowed the lump in his throat, apparently even more nervous than ever, but Maka held his hand, causing him to glance at her.

"It's gonna be okay, Crona," she said. "I'm right here."

Crona smiled and nodded.

"All right," said Maka. "Let's go!"

With that, the remaining three joined hands and ran through the portal, which closed the moment they entered.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

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Review, please!


	2. Arrive in the Grand Line

This chapter was written by yellowpikmin88 from DeviantArt. Give him some credit, too, if you please.

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Soul EaterXOne Piece Collab Special! Ch. 2- Arrive in the Grand Line- a friendship with pirates?

10:00 pm

True Blood Island: a rather shady place where the people tend to keep to themselves and rarely ever socialise. So much so, that the streets are often empty at night, which turned out to be quite handy for the DWMA gang as at that moment the air in the centre of the town square began to ripple, revealing the portal.

"WHOOOOOAAAHHH~!" **THWUMP!** At that moment the DWMA gang came tumbling out of the portal and landed in a heap, resulting in a large dog pile.

"Dammit. I could definitely NOT get used to this portal." Soul said as he untangled himself from the group. **KONK!** It was then that their bags come flying through the portal, one of which hit Soul from behind knocking him back to the ground. "Why me?" he grumbled before picking himself back up again. "Come on guys. We don't wanna draw attention to ourselves."

"You try climbing out from under eight people, sharky." Spike snorted as she tried to squeeze out from under the pile. By this point the rest of the gang had managed to get their heads back on and were getting to their feet as well.

"Aw man, I'm seeing double." Shino groaned as he dusted off his hat.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Liz gagged a little.

"Look all that matters is we're here now. So for now let's catch our breaths for a moment and then move on to the next stage." Maka said brushing off any dirt that was on her long black coat.

"Which is?" Ragnarok asked.

"Let the New World know that the one who'll surpass god has arrived! YAHOO!" Black star cheered, earning a punch to the head from Spike.

"You wanna wake up the whole town, shorty?" she hissed.

"Thank you, Spike." Maka said. "And no. The next stage is what all we meisters do on these missions. Gather information on the target. So for now, let's try some of the local taverns and see if any of them know about this Bluebeard. Besides we need to find a place to stay for the night."

"Good call, Maka." Kid said.

"Oh wait, just one thing though. Spike?" Maka asked.

"Yes?"

"Just so we don't draw attention to ourselves, Could you change into your animal form for the time being. It's just, since this is different world; the people probably aren't used to seeing young woman with wolf tails."

"I guess so. But even in my animal form, I'll still have two tails." Spike said.

"That won't be a problem." Liz suddenly spoke up. "Just transform, I'll handle the rest." Spike looked inquisitively at the pistol before transforming into her large purple wolf form. Liz then reached into her bag before pulling out a purple sock. "Hold still." Ashe said before gently tying Spike's tails together with the sock. "There. Now it looks like you just have a really bushy tail."

"_Not bad, Liz._" Spike smiled.

"You're a genius, Big Sis." Patty grinned. "I bet you could take down this Bluebeard all by yourself, you're so smart."

"I think you might be pushing it there, Patty." Liz replied.

"Anyway, let's go. We've no time to dilly-dally." Maka said.

"Right." The rest of the gang said before they began to walk through the town.

"Also, you probably already know this, Ragnarok, but you have to stay inside Crona for now." Maka said.

"You're not the boss of me, pigtails." The demon snorted. "I can stay out if I wanna and you can't change my mind. Not even for three pieces of candy."

"Fine, same as always. Every time you stay inside Crona while we're in public, I'll give you ten jellybeans." Maka said.

"Once again, Miss Albarn you're bargaining skills amaze me." Ragnarok grinned before slipping back into Crona.

"He'll be sorry someday for having such a sweet tooth. Sooner or later he's gonna get a stomach-ache he'll never forget." Spike said. As the group continued through the town Black Star looked at one of the walls to see a few bounty posters pasted to it. He stopped to look at one of a boy about his age with a really big grin and straw hat.

"_Holy hell! He's got a bounty of 400,000,000. What kind of sick psychopath is this? That's the kind of bounty you'd give a Kishin._" He thought before carrying on after his friends until they came across a large tavern that still had its lights on. The sign read 'The Tourniquet'.

"Rather gruesome name." Shino remarked as they entered the tavern. They found it to be rather empty actually, except for a few people sitting at some tables. But what had really drawn their attention were nine people and a large white dog, which was a little bit taller than Spike and wearing a red and white striped scarf. The nine people consisted of two women, one with long orange hair, brown eyes and wearing a pair of jeans and bikini top, and the other had long raven hair, blue eyes and was wearing a violet V-neck one-piece dress. The other seven we're young men. A rather skinny boy with scruffy black hair and wearing a red long sleeve shirt and a pair of short jeans, a rather muscular, and slightly older man with moss green hair and a scar over his left eye, another man in a black suit with blonde hair covering his right eye, while his left sported an eyebrow curled into a spiral. The next man looked the same age as the skinny boy. He had tanned skin, curly black hair and very long nose, while he was donned in a pair of baggy yellow trousers, held up by red suspenders. The next male in the group actually shocked the DWMA gang. He was very small, no bigger than a toddler and he was covered in light brown fur and had a pair of small antlers on the side of his head, and a little blue nose.

"What in the world is he?" Tsubaki whispered.

"I don't know. But I think he's kinda cute." Liz whispered back. The next man was incredibly bizarre. He was really big in size and rather square. He had huge, round, red shoulders and big turquoise rectangular arms with a blue star on each elbow. His hair was buzz cut and he wore a pair of black sunglasses that sat above his metal nose. All he was wearing was an open Hawaiian shirt and a red speedo. However when they saw the last man, Liz let out a scream and hid behind Kid. He was a tall and very skinny, skeleton with a huge round afro, which sported a large tan hat with a golden crown. His attire seemed to be themed after a rock star from the seventies.

"A SKELETON~!" Liz wailed. Gaining the groups attention. The aforementioned bone bag got up from his seat and began to approach them.

"YOHOHOHOHO~! Oh I do beg your pardon for scaring you young lady." He laughed with a rather gentlemanly accent.

"Please don't eat me. I may have big boobs but I'm all skin and bones really!" Liz whimpered.

"No you've got it all wrong, Miss. I would never eat another human being. Though I do agree with you about your breasts." The skeleton said.

"Shut up, Brook! What have we told you about talking that way to women?!" the orange haired girl shouted.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm simply agreeing with what the young lady said." The skeleton now known as Brook said back.

"Look sorry for bothering you. Our friend is just a scaredy-cat." Maka spoke up. "We won't bother you anymore."

"Oh it's quite alright. It's only natural that your friend was scared by our musician." The raven haired woman smiled politely.

"Thank you. But we're just here for some information"

"Can we get some food, Maka? I'm starving." Black star said.

"Actually I'm a bit hungry too." Shino agreed.

"Ok, guys. Can we have ten meals over here, please?" Maka said to the bartender who nodded before bring them their food. Black Star licked his lips until stopped.

"Hey bartender? Can I get a drink over here?" he asked as he turned away from his food.

"What's your poison?" The man asked.

"I guess water'll be fine for now. Just to wash the meal down."

"Suit yourself." The bartender said before handing Black Star a large glass of water, but when the assassin turned back to his plate, his eyes popped when he saw it had been completely cleaned.

"Hey! Who swiped my grub?!" he shouted. His eyes narrowed when he saw the skinny boy whistling to himself. "Bartender, can I get another meal, thanks? Someone stole my last one." he said as the man gave him another one. Black Star kept his eye on the boy before turning away for a second and shutting his eyes. **GRAB!** Using his sharp senses he grabbed a hold of the boy's hand which he'd sensed sneaking towards his meal. "AHA! Gotcha now you bastaaaa~?!" he gaped at what he was now looking at. The boy was still sitting a few feet away…but his arm had stretched all the way to Black Star's plate.

"He's all stretchy!" Crona said in shock.

"What the hell kind of person does that?!" Soul shouted in shock.

"You idiot!" **BONK!** The orange haired girl hit the boy on the head. "I'm sorry, about my boyfriend's rudeness. I'll get you another meal, Sir." She said to Black Star. But it was then that Black Star noticed something.

"Wait a second." **YOINK!** He then yanked the boy over to him, his rubbery arm retracting. "I recognise you." He then reached over the boy's shoulder to find a straw hat resting on his back, which he then pulled up and set on his black hair. "You're that psychopath worth 400,000,000!"

"**PSYCHOPATH?!**" the other people with the boy said in confusion.

"**400,000,000?!**" the DWMA gang said in equal shock.

"It's true. I saw a bounty poster in town. He's wanted dead or alive. Anyone with a bounty like that has to be bad to the bone!" Black Star said. "In fact, now I recognise all of them. They're all wanted dead or alive. Whoever these people are their evil!"

"No wait you don't-" the orange haired girl tried to say.

"SHUT IT!" Black Star cut her off. "Don't bother trying to trick me. You don't get bounties for nothing. If there's one thing I know, its bounty equals evil. As my duty as a meister, me and my friends will stop you. You will not hunt anymore innocent lives, you hear me?! Tsubaki, enchanted sword mode."

"Right." She said before she began to glow yellow.

"W-What the hell is happening?!" the long nosed boy said before Tsubaki fully morphed into a black katana which Black Star held in his grip.

"SHE TURNED INTO A SWORD!" the boy squawked.

"AWESOME~!" the skinny boy and the little furry creature gasped, their eyes sparkling.

"A sword and a woman in one, huh?" the green haired man smirked in a rather adoring way. "I like that a lot."

"Zoro!" the rave haired woman said in shock.

"Calm down, Robin. I'm just teasing." The man now named Zoro said as he put his arm around the woman now called Robin.

"Guys, let's do this. We need to take them down and protect this town. They might even know about Bluebeard." Maka said.

"Bluebeard?" The blonde man asked.

"Look this is all a big mistake." The orange haired girl tried to say again.

"Tell it to my scythe. Let's go Soul Eater." Maka said, as soul nodded before glowing blue and changing into his scythe form which Maka caught in her hands and twirled like a baton. "Whoever you people are, in the name of Lord Death evil will be purged. You're days of murdering are over. You're souls are mine!" Maka said before she charged towards Luffy. "HAAAA!" **CLANG!"** she found her scythe blocked by Zoro who was wielding three katana swords. One in each hand and a third in in his mouth.

"If you want my Captain's head, you're gonna have to go through me, little girl." He said through his clenched teeth. **BANG! BANG!** The man leapt back to see Kid aiming his pistols at him.

"Come quietly and I promise to give you a peaceful passing to the afterlife." He said.

"I'll handle this guy, Zoro." Luffy said as he charged towards Kid who lowered his weapons.

"_Kid what are you doing?!_" Liz said. "_He's coming right at us!_"

"But Liz he's…perfectly symmetrical!" Kid said in fear.

"_OH NO NOT NOW!_" Liz wailed, but then she got an idea. "_Wait. Shoot him in the middle of that x-shaped scar on his chest. That way he'll still be symmetrical._"

"Liz, you really are a genius!" Kid said as he aimed at the boy who was nearing him. "Eat this!" As the boy neared him, Kid jammed both barrels of his pistols into the centre of the boy's scar. **BANG!** In a blast of pink light, the boy was sent flying across the room and landed on his back. His chest smoking.

"LUFFY~!" the orange haired girl cried. But at that moment the boy now called Luffy began to roll on his back like he had a very bad stomach-ache.

"OW!-OW!-OW!-OW!-OW! THAT REALLY, REALLY HURT~!" he cried.

"Luffy?" the girl asked. At that point he little furry animal ran over to Luffy and looked at his chest.

"There's no wound. Not even a scratch." He said.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" the blonde man asked in anger.

"My guns don't use bullets." Kid said. "They fire compressed burst of my wavelength."

"Wavelength?" The big robot-like man asked.

"Yeah, like this!" Black Star said as he charged at him and took a flying leap. **WHAM!** He slammed his fist and elbow in to the man's chest. "Black Star BIG WAVE!" in another blast, the large man was sent flying again the wall of the bar.

"FRANKY!" the long nosed boy shouted before growling, and pulling out what looked like a slingshot of some sort. "You'll pay for that you bastard. Green star-Devil!" **Twang!** He fired what looked like a seed at Black Star's feet which then sprouted into and enormous Venus flytrap.

"HOLY CRAP!" Black Star gaped. **CHOMP!** The plant then picked him up in its jaws.

"BLACK STAR!" Crona shouted before summoning his sword and slicing through the plant. **SLASH!** Spike meanwhile was in a stare down with the large white dog. Both canines were snarling at each other.

"_What the hell is your problem, fleabag?!_" the white hound snarled.

"_It's my duty to stop evil doers, no matter the odds!_" Spike growled back.

"_Fine. But you'll have to kill me before I let you touch my Master!_" the white dog snarled.

"_Gladly. By the way you're pretty fierce looking for a dog. What sort of breed are you?_"

"_I could say the same for a big purple poodle like you. And in answer to your question. I'm half husky, half wolf. The name's Blizzard._" The half-dog said.

"_Spike. I'm half wolf as well, believe it or not._" She smirked.

"_Wow. You're some woman._" Blizzard smirked. "_Steel fang!_" he then lunged at Spike, as his teeth became coated in some sort of black metallic substance. **GRAB!** But as he was about to bite her, he felt something grip his torso. He turned to see Shino holding him back.

"NOW SPIKE!" he yelled. Blizzard didn't have time to react as the purple werewolf slammed into him, biting him in the shoulder. Blizzard yelped in pain before he snarled and bit back, both hounds continuing their duel. Meanwhile Maka was still fighting Zoro, the two of them blocking each other's attacks. By this point the entire bar had been deserted.

"He's too fast. I need to focus on his soul and predict his attacks." She thought before closing her eyes momentarily and activating her soul perception. But no sooner had she done this, she gasped when she saw not only Zoro's but the rest of her opponents souls. At this point she began to back away from Zoro.

"What's this? Chickening out all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Crona!" Maka suddenly called to her friend who was locked in combat with Brook.

"What is it, Maka?!"

"Use your scream resonance."

"Why?"

"Just do it. We've made a big mistake."

"Ok, I trust you, Maka." Crona said before leaping away from Brook and raising his sword in front of his face. "Ragnarok." He called. "Scream resonance." With that, the red mouth appeared on the face of the blade.

"What in heavens?" Brook said as he looked at it.

"Goopii." Ragnarok said before he opened his mouth. "**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAHH!**" the sword let out an earth shattering shriek, which made the entire group stop instantly and many of them to cover their ears. Even Zoro dropped his swords from the noise.

"WHAT'S UP WITH THAT SCREAMING?!" Luffy said in pain.

"IT'S TOO LOUD~!" Nami cried as she held her head.

"MY EARS~!" the little furry one said as he rolled on the ground in agony, as did Blizzard who whimpered with his paws over his pricked ears.

"That's enough, Crona!" Maka said. Ragnarok then immediately stopped screaming and allowed the silence to flow. "Everyone stand down. We've screwed up." Maka said.

"_What the hell are you talking about, Maka?!_" Soul asked.

"These people aren't evil at all. They're pure. Completely innocent. I've read their souls." The DWMA gang backed away before changing their partners back to normal. "Everyone. We're so, SO sorry." Maka said as she bowed her head in apology. "We've made a big mistake. I now know you're not evil. Please forgive us."

"What do you mean Maka?" Black Star asked.

"It's not your fault Black Star. You only meant well, and you can't see souls after all."

"You mean their souls are innocent?! Then why the hell are they are wanted?! It doesn't make sense!"

"Excuse me?" The group looked up to see the orange haired girl glaring at them. "But do you mind answering a few questions for us. Like shall we say who are you?! Or what are you?! Where are you from?! Why'd you attack us?! And most importantly…why are you now begging for forgiveness?!"

"I understand that you're all very confused, but I can explain everything." Maka said. "Though maybe somewhere more private. I promise we're not tricking you." The group of people looked at each other before turning back to the DWMA gang.

"Ok! We'll take you back to the ship. No hard feelings." Luff grinned.

"LUFFY~!" the others shouted.

"It's okay guys. They said their sorry. Besides I like them. Their awesome."

XXX

"So you guys are pirates?!" Black Star asked as the group lead them through the town until they saw a very large ship ahead, with a figurehead shaped like a cartoon lion.

"Wow! And that's your ship?!" Patty asked in excitement.

"Sure is, little lady. Built by yours truly." Franky said as he gestured a thumb to himself. By this point the entire group was standing on deck.

"Okay. For your first answer, we're not form here. We're actually from a different world entirely." Maka said.

"You mean you're aliens?!" the long nosed boy gasped.

"No! We're human just like all of you. Well most of you." She said to the small furry boy and Blizzard.

"Well what the hell kind of humans can turn into weapons?" Zoro asked.

"In our world, we go to a place called the DWMA or Death Weapon Meister Academy, ruled by the Grim reaper himself, or Lord Death as we call him." Maka said. "It's our duty to hunt down and kill a breed of monster known as Kishin eggs. Humans who've strayed from the path of humanity by eating the souls of innocent people. The process corrupts and warps their minds and bodies with evil and madness, transforming them into grotesque monsters." By this point the orange haired girl and long nosed boy were quaking in fear. "It's our job to stop the eggs from feeding, because if they do, they change into a very dangerous form of demon, known as a Kishin. We feed the souls of these monsters to our weapons so they can grow stronger, but since the souls aren't innocent and pure anymore they don't corrupt our weapons."

"Fascinating" Robin said.

"We also hunt witches."

"Witches?!" Luffy said.

"Yes. In our world many witches use their magic for evil so we hunt them as well. No all of them are though. Two of our friends and one of our teachers are witches, but they use their magic for good. But the thing is, if we feed our weapons ninety nine Kishin eggs and one witch, it becomes a death scythe: a much more powerful version of itself and one of Lord Deaths' instruments for defending the peace of our world."

"Okay, well that definitely explains a lot." The orange haired girl said. "But what are you doing in our world. There're no Kishin eggs here."

"There is now." Shino spoke up. "Lord Death has sent us on a mission to your world, because there's been word of a very dangerous pirate here known as Jules Blake or 'Bluebeard'. You heard of him?"

"Never." Luffy shook his head.

"Well the dealio is, we've learned that he and his crew are consuming innocent souls and a have all strayed from the path. We have to find and kill them all before they become Kishin or else…you're entire world will be consumed by madness and destruction." Shino said.

"And as for the whole transformation thing. In our world there are two types of people in the DWMA: weapons and meisters. I for example am a meister, and Soul here is my weapon who was born with the ability to transform into one. In addition, some meisters, like me can sense someone's soul like a radar and read it like a book to learn about the person. It was during the fight that I read your souls and discovered none of you were evil after all and that we mistook you for evil because you're all wanted dead or alive for some reason. I can't imagine why though, since none of you have done anything worthy of death." Maka explained

"That's so cool!" Luffy grinned. "You're awesome!"

"Thank you." Maka said before holding out her hand. "I'm Maka. Maka Albarn."

"Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet you." Luffy grinned before shaking Maka's hand.

"Again we're so sorry. But we're not evil. We mean no harm now." She said again.

"Hey it's fine. We get it all the time. Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. Maka couldn't help but laugh with him. "Well say hello guys."

"My name's Nami. I'm the ship's navigator and my captain's girlfriend." The orange haired girl said as she wrapped her arm around Luffy and kissed him on the cheek making him blush slightly.

"Wow. You're one lucky sonofabitch you are." Soul said to Luffy who laughed. "She sure is a sight for sore eyes." Nami blushed slightly and smiled at the complement. "Not to mention she's got a great pair." **BONK!** In flash Nami slammed her fist onto Soul's head.

"What was that you perv?!" she roared. The DWMA gang to a step back.

"Why am I suddenly really scared?" Black star asked.

"Sorry." Soul groaned as he got to his feet, massaging the lump on his head.

"She's scarier than Maka." Kid said.

"Luffy's really the captain? That tough guys with the green hair looks more like a captain to me." Shino said.

"I'm the first mate, so you're half right. And it's Roronoa Zoro."

"My name's Usopp. Hello" the long nosed boy said with a small bow of his head.

"I'm Sanji. And I must say I'm honoured to see five pretty young ladies before me~!" He swooned.

"How did you know Spike was a human?" Tsubaki asked.

"Because she looks like one." Sanji said as he pointed to Crona. The swordsman gasped before shaking his hands in front of his face.

"Oh no-no-no-no-no! You've got it all wrong. I'm not Spike. My name's Crona Makenshi….and I'm a boy."

"You…you are?" Sanji asked in fear.

"What made you think he wasn't, dartboard? He's clearly a dude. Even I know that." Sanji began to tremble at this point before he fell back and hit the deck with a thud.

"Sanji!" the little furry one yelped as he inspected him, but then sighed with relief. "He just fainted."

"Oh I can't deal with this. I'm so embarrassed~" Crona whimpered.

"Well maybe if you stopped wearing that dress-like robe you'd look more like a guy." Ragnarok suddenly said before emerging from Crona's back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Usopp, Nami and the furry one screamed.

"The name's Ragnarok. I don't like to play games so I'll sum it up quickly. Crona's mother was a bitch of a witch. She melted me into black blood and used me to replace Crona's. So now I'm stuck inside him and we both share the same life-force so if he dies, I die and vice versa. And I'm also a weapon. Have I left anything out?"

"Not at all." The Straw-hats said as they slapped the air in refusal.

"But anyway, you don't have to be embarrassed, Crona. Sanji's just a bit sensitive when it comes to women so he just finds it easy to mistake some guys for women. Trust me, he's seen to a place you'd never want to see." Nami said.

"We'll take your word for it." The boys of the DWMA gang said in unison.

"But then who is Spike?" Luffy asked.

"_I am._" The crew turned their heads to the purple wolf who then began to arch her back, and her purple fur began to retract until she'd changed back to her human form. "I'm a werewolf." She explained. "Though I can only transform at night, and at my own will." She then turned her gaze away from the crew how looked shocked. "You probably all think I'm a monster."

"No way! I love monsters!" Luffy laughed, much to Spikes confusion.

"He's easily impressed." Nami smiled a little embarrassed.

"Besides. Even if people say you're a monster. That doesn't change who you are." Spike looked down to see the little furry creature approach her. "I know how you feel. Everyone called me a monster. They even tried to shoot me." Spike covered her mouth when she heard this.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Chopper. Tony Tony Chopper. I'm a reindeer who ate the human-human fruit which lets me change form, as well as give me the brain power of a human being. So I'm half human as well, just like you."

"I'm so sorry people tried to kill you. I should know. My own father tried to kill me and my little brothers."

"That's awful. But at least you still have people who love you. So do I. My big brother Blizzard's always there for me." Spike looked at the wolf-dog who smiled to her. "Not to mention the rest of my crew. They're all my family and they love me for who I am. Besides at least you can fully become a human. Even with my powers I can never look like you." Spike smiled before gently picking Chopper up.

"Like you said though, it doesn't change who you are. Plus, I think you're the cutest little guy ever. Thank you so much for your kind words, Chopper." She then leaned in and pressed a kiss to the reindeer's little blue nose, her lipstick leaving a purple kiss mark behind. Chopper blushed bright red at the gesture before leaping out of Spike's arms and began wiggling around.

"Shut up fleabag. Saying stuff like that and kissing my nose won't make me happy at all~! Do I even look happy~?!" he laughed.

"You sure do." Spike giggled.

"Not the best at hiding his feelings is he?" Liz laughed

"He's such a cutie pie~!" Patty swooned.

"Actually what did he mean by a fruit?" Soul asked.

"Ah, yes. See in this world, a type of magical fruit, called a devil fruit grows in the world. If someone or something etas it, they gain a certain type of power but at the cost of their ability to swim. Chopper ate the Human-Human fruit. Luffy ate the Gum-Gum fruit which turned him into rubber. Robin ate the Flower-Flower fruit which lets her produce any part of her body onto any surface or even entire clones. And Brook ate the Revive-Revive fruit which brought him back form the deal, which is why he's a skeleton." Nami explained.

"So fascinating." Maka said intrigued.

"Moving on. I'm Franky, the SUPER shipwright who built this boat. The Thousand Sunny!" the cyborg grinned giving his trademark pose.

"SYMMETRY~!" Kid beamed. "You're completely balanced." Franky stopped posing in confusion at Kid's reaction, but that was when the reaper saw his shoulders. "NO! You have writing on both shoulders. If you spell it backwards on one side you'd be perfect."

"And why the hell would I do that? Then I wouldn't be able to read it." Franky asked

"Well at least Chopper's symmetrical." Kid said until he noticed the clasp on the reindeer's antler. "NO! TRICKED AGAIN~!" but then he saw Brook only wail for at third time when he saw the scar on the skeleton's forehead. Then again when he checked Sanji's other eye only to see his eyebrow pointing in the same direction

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Zoro asked.

"Sorry. This is Death the Kid, but just call him Kid. He's Lord Death's son, so he's a reaper. Unfortunately he's completely obsessed with symmetry."

"Well that's hypocritical. I mean look at the stripes in his hair." Nami said. Kid the collapsed and pounded his fist on the lawn deck.

"You're right!" he cried. "How could this be?! I'm an asymmetrical monster~! I should die~!"

"What a weirdo." Luffy laughed.

"But at least you're symmetrical Luffy!" Kid grinned at the captain. "Not to mention this beautiful navigator of yours." Liz, noticing this couldn't help but feel jealous, but that's when she noticed something and smirked wickedly.

"Wait, Kid. Nami's got that compass thing on one wrist and a golden band on the other." the reaper once again collapsed and began sobbing.

"He needs help." Nami muttered.

"Yohohoho~! I believe I am the next to be introduced. I am Brook at your service, ladies and gentlemen." He said before shaking Maka's hand. "Excuse me, Miss, but can I see your panties?"

"MAKA CHOP!" **POW!** The scythe meister slammed her book against Brook skull leaving a huge book-shaped dent in his afro.

"MY GOODNESS~! She's just as fiery as our Nami~!" Brook sang. "You shook my brain to its core, though I don't have a brain. Yohohohohoho!" he then collapsed on the deck.

"And lastly, we have Blizzard. He's our dog." Nami said. The aforementioned wolf-dog then ran up to Maka and began to lick her face. **Slurp! Slurp!**

"Hahahaha! Hey stop that! It tickles!" Maka laughed as she pushed Blizzard away. "Aww aren't you just a sweetie." She then hugged the white hound who wagged his tail happily.

"I see you like him, Maka." Luffy smiled.

"I sure do. He's such a hunk." Maka smiled as she pecked Blizzard on the snout who gave her another doggy kiss in return.

"Well now that we've finished introducing ourselves, how 'bout you tell us the rest of your names?" Robin asked.

"Of course. Well guys?" Maka asked.

"Soul Eater. I'm Maka's partner." Soul said.

"I am the great a powerful Black Star. The one who'll surpass god and prove to the world what a marvel I am. Consider yourselves lucky to be in my presence. YAHOOOO!" he cheered. Robin chuckled while the other Straw-hats looked rather confused, including Sanji who'd just woken up.

"I'm Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. It's so nice to meet all of you." Tsubaki smiled and bowed politely in greeting.

"As you know, I am Death the Kid. Son of the Grim reaper and next in line to rule Death City. But please just call me Kid."

"My name's Liz Thompson and this is my younger sister Patty. We're Kid's weapon partners." Liz said.

"Hi~!" Patty grinned widely.

"You already know my name, but just for introduction, I'm Crona Makenshi and this is Ragnarok." Crona said introducing himself again.

"Yo." Ragnarok said.

"I'm Shino Kurohana" Shino said. "And this is my partner Sicily Clayborne, but we all call her Spike. It's what she prefers."

"Hello everyone." Spike smiled.

"So you guys are here to find this Bluebeard guy and take him to hell?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah, but the problem is we don't know where to start. We arrived in this town when Lord Death sent us here."

"Well don't worry. We'll help." Luffy grinned.

"You…you will?" Tsubaki asked in surprise.

"Sure we will. This whole mission of yours smells strongly of adventure." Luffy smirked.

"Well you all know where this is going, guys." Nami smiled.

"We sure do." The Straw-hats replied.

"You mean you will help us?" Maka asked.

"Once our Captain's made a decision there's no turning back." Zoro smiled.

"Besides I think we can all be good friends." Robin smiled "I see you like books."

"They're my favourite thing in the world. Besides my friends and family of course." Maka grinned.

"Back at you." Robin chuckled.

"Also, you guys must need somewhere to live for the time you're here. So you can live with us on the Sunny" Luffy said.

"Really? You'd let us stay?" Crona asked.

"Of course. If we're gonna help you we have to stick together don't worry we've got plenty of room here."

"Looks like I've got even more mouths to feed for a while." Sanji sighed with a smile.

"Some of us can cook, Sir. Tsubaki and I could help out." Maka said.

"Well that's very nice of you to volunteer. And please you can call me Sanji."

"Then it's settled. Straw-hats! We're now on the hunt for Bluebeard the pirate. Starting tomorrow!" Luffy shouted.

"**AYE-AYE CAPTAIN~!**" the rest of the crew and even the DWMA gang cheered. This looked like the beginning of the friendship of a lifetime.

To be continued…

* * *

Review, please!


	3. Some Unexpected Guests

**Ch. 3- Some Unexpected Guests: The Bluebeard Pirates Make Their Move**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

Blizzard, Bluebeard Pirates, Shino Kurohana, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Mark and Will Clayborne, Juliet the White Witch © Me

* * *

Later that night, the Straw Hats have shown the DWMA Gang to their temporary quarters. Nami believed that any place was better than sleeping outside on the deck. Plus she didn't want to be rude to the crew's new guests.

Liz and Patty decided to stay in the Aquarium Bar. Black*Star, Crona, Ragnarok, and Kid are staying in the men's quarters with Usopp, Franky, Brook, Blizzard, Sanji, and Chopper. Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki had decided to stay in Zoro and Robin's room. As for Shino and Spike, they decided to stay in the Crow's Nest. Zoro told the weapon and Meister pair that if they wake up the next morning and see him lifting weights, they shouldn't worry about it, for it was a part of his morning workout.

Spike yawned as she pulled off her Duffel bag and dropped it on the lounge.

"OW!"

"That hurt!"

Spike turned around when she heard those voices…coming from inside her bag.

"Oh, no," she mumbled. "Don't tell me…"

**ZZZIP!** She unzipped her bag and saw, to her surprise, that it is none other than two blue-haired boys with wolf ears and a single tail for each of them. They are her younger brothers: the twins, Marcus "Mark" Clayborne and William "Will" Clayborne, both rubbing their sore heads. In case one can't tell them apart, Mark is the one with the scar on his left cheek and wearing the blue shirt with the black spade on it while Will is the one with the scar on his right eye and wearing the blue shirt with the red diamond on it.

"Mark?! Will?!" Spike questioned. "What the hell are you two doing in my bag?!"

"We snuck in here while you came to say goodbye to Mom," Will answered. "It was Mark's idea!"

"Hey!" Mark spat. "Tattle-tail!"

"Why did you guys come along?!" Spike questioned.

"Well, we didn't wanna miss this chance," said Mark. "You guys get to go to a world filled with pirates!"

"Yeah!" Will said. "Just like in the storybooks Mom reads us!"

"You guys, this is NOTHING like the storybooks!" Spike argued. "We're not here on vacation! We're looking for a very dangerous pirate! Don't you get it?!"

"Uh, Spike?" Shino asked. "I know you're mad at your brothers and all, but…if they snuck along, then…doesn't that mean your Mom is looking for them?"

Spike's eyes went wide in surprise and shock before she suddenly ran down the Crow's Nest and made a run for Zoro and Robin's room, much to Zoro, Robin, Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki's surprise. Once there, she approached the vanity mirror in a bit of a panic. After she caught her breath, the werewolf girl breathed on the mirror and proceeded to write on the glass with her finger.

"42-42-564 whenever you wanna knock on Death's door," she said.

"What is she doing?" Zoro asked.

"Calling Lord Death," said Maka. "Where we come from, we use mirrors or windows to contact him."

"I see," said Robin. "So Transponder Snails don't exist where you come from. Interesting."

By this time, the mirror flashes a bright light.

"Lord Death, are you there?!" Spike asked, frantically.

"Ya, ya!" Lord Death answered as he appeared on the mirror. "What's up, Sicily? You sound a bit worried."

"Please stop calling me Sicily," Spike grumbled. "Anyway, I need to speak to my Mom! Is she there?!"

"Funny you should mention your mother," Lord Death said before he stepped aside, revealing Juliet behind him.

"Mom!" Spike cried.

"Sicily!" Juliet shouted as she approached the mirror. When Spike saw her panicked visage, she immediately knew that Juliet had found out about Mark and Will sneaking out.

"Mom, listen," said Spike. "Before you ask, Mark and Will are with me. They snuck into my bag while I was at your place, saying goodbye."

"What?!" Maka questioned.

"Those two little pups tagged along and we didn't even know it?!" Soul asked in disbelief.

"Who're Mark and Will?" asked Zoro.

"Spike's little brothers," Tsubaki answered.

"Oh, thank goodness," Juliet said, putting a hand to her chest in relief. "I was so worried. At least I know they're in good hands."

"Yeah," Spike said.

"Now, Sicily," said Juliet. "You know this means that you and Shino have to look after them again, don't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Spike said.

"Make sure they behave themselves," Juliet said. "Don't let Will have any sugar before bed. You know how hyper he gets when he does."

"Don't remind me," Spike said.

"By the way, where are you right now?" Juliet asked.

"We actually made some new friends," Spike answered. "We met some…rather friendly pirates. There was a bit of a misunderstanding, but we worked it out. They're gonna help us on our mission."

"I see," Juliet said. "Well, it's good to know you've made some new friends."

"Yeah," Spike agreed. "By the way, Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" Juliet asked.

"There's something else I've wanted to tell you," Spike said.

"Yes?" Juliet asked, a bit of a hopeful look on her face.

"I…I just wanted to say…" Spike began, but then she heaved a sigh. "Never mind…I forgot."

"Oh," Juliet mumbled. "I-it's all right, sweetheart. Maybe you'll remember after a good night's sleep."

"Okay," Spike said. "Bye Mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey," Juliet said. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom," said Spike. "I'll tell Mark and Will you love them, too."

With that, the mirror stopped glowing, and Juliet's image was gone. Spike heaved a sigh before she turned to leave.

"Spike, is something wrong?" Maka asked.

"No, Maka," Spike answered. "Everything is fine. Really."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Soul asked.

"Yes, Soul!" Spike snapped. "What the hell is this?! An interrogation or something?! I mean, GOD!"

With that, Spike stomped out.

"Well, she's…nice," Zoro said, sarcastically.

"Does Spike happen to have relationship issues with her mother?" asked Robin.

"Not that I know of," Maka said. "Spike said that she and her mama always get along."

"So why does it look they're not getting along now?" asked Zoro.

"Search us," Soul said as he began to open his suitcase. The moment he did, however, he gasped when he saw a familiar black cat wearing a witch's hat fall out.

"Ouch!" the cat cried.

"Blair?!" Soul and Maka questioned.

"Uh…hi, guys," said Blair, rubbing a paw against her head.

"Blair, what are you doing here?!" Maka questioned.

"I fell asleep in Soul's suitcase!" Blair answered. "Besides…I didn't wanna be alone~."

"A talking cat?!" Zoro questioned.

"Is she also from your world?" asked Robin.

"Yeah," Maka said as she picked Blair up and held her in her arms. "Zoro, Robin, this is Blair."

"Hi!" Blair greeted, cutely raising a paw.

"Nice to meet you," said Robin, gently shaking Blair's paw.

At that moment, Blair noticed Zoro and she gasped.

"Ooh, who's that?" the cat asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Maka said. "Blair, this is Zoro. He's one of our new friends."

Just then, Blair jumped down from Maka's arms and **POOF!** A pink cloud of smoke exploded, and when Blair emerged, she is in her human form, wearing what looked like a witch's outfit, only a bit skimpy. Soul had an immediate nosebleed the moment he saw the outfit, Maka had veins appearing in her forehead, Tsubaki gasped when she saw Soul's nosebleed, and Robin? Well, she just covered her mouth in surprise, but when she saw Blair put her arms around Zoro, she tried her hardest not to let her jealousy show.

"Hi, big boy," Blair said. "I like your hair. So green and fuzzy."

"Uh…thanks," Zoro said, a bit irritably, "but I think you should know that I have a girlfriend."

"You do?" Blair asked, surprised.

"Yes," Robin answered, causing the cat woman to turn to her. "I'm Nico Robin, and I'd really appreciate if you let Zoro go."

Blair pouted for a moment before she pulled away from Zoro.

"Fine," she said.

"By the way, to clarify," Maka said, "Blair didn't eat one of those 'Devil Fruits'. She really is a cat. She just has an incredible amount of magic power that regular cats shouldn't have."

"I see," Robin said.

At that moment, Sanji entered with some futons.

"I just thought I'd bring some futons for Maka and Tsubaki," said Sanji.

"Hey, what about me?" Soul asked, bluntly.

"What about you?" Sanji questioned.

"Ooh~! Who's the cutie with the swirl-y eyebrows?" Blair asked, excitedly.

"Blair, that's Sanji," said Maka. "He's one of our new friends, and he's also the cook on this ship."

"Sanji, huh?" Blair repeated.

"MELLORINE~!" Sanji swooned as he twirled up to Blair and got down on his knees before her. "You…are a true sight to behold! A living marvel! I am humbled by your presence, for I am nothing but a mere mortal compared to you, my lovely goddess!"

Blair giggled at Sanji's words.

"I like him!" she said. "He's funny!"

"Oh, brother," Soul grumbled, clumps of tissue stuffed in his nostrils to stop the bleeding.

"Why am I suddenly reminded of my Papa?" Maka questioned to no one in particular.

Tsubaki just chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh, great," Zoro said. "Now you've got that stupid love-cook in here, spouting his nonsense."

"What did you say, moss-head?!" asked Sanji.

"You heard exactly what I said, dartboard brow!" Zoro barked.

"YOU WANNA GO, YOU CRAP SWORDSMAN?!" Sanji questioned.

"HELL YEAH!" Zoro snapped, drawing his swords, but then, Robin crossed her arms, and out of nowhere, many arms sprouted of the floor and held Zoro and Sanji away from each other.

"That's enough, boys," Robin said. "Save your little quarrel for morning, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah," Zoro grumbled in reply.

"Of course, Robin," said Sanji.

"Sanji, do you think you could get some more futons for the rest of my friends?" asked Maka.

"Actually, Maka," Sanji said, "there are only a few futons. We didn't expect this many guests and we had only had about five."

"Then why didn't you bring me one?" asked Soul, irritably.

"You're gonna have to get used to that," said Zoro. "The cook here doesn't really give much a crap about the boys. By the way, during breakfast tomorrow, be careful: he might poison it."

"Hey! I'm not that cruel!" Sanji snapped.

"Maka?" Blair asked. "Can I sleep with Sanji, tonight, please?"

"Uh…okay, Blair," Maka answered. "If you want to, that's fine.'

Sanji seemed to get hearts in his eyes when he heard that.

_Better him than me,_ Soul thought. _At least I won't have to worry about getting boobs in my face in the morning._

As Blair and Sanji went outside, the former is spotted by Spike's brothers, plus Blizzard.

"Hey! It's Blair!" Will exclaimed. "She must've snuck along, too!"

"Let's get her!" Mark shouted.

"Uh-oh…!" Blair whimpered.

Suddenly, the twins began to glow blue, and soon, the two boys transformed into two wolf pups.

"_They can transform, too?!"_ Blizzard questioned in shock. _"Wait a minute, of course they can. Their sister's a werewolf, too."_

At that moment, Mark and Will gave chase after Blair, who had transformed into her cat and took off running, and when Blizzard saw Blair in her cat form, as well, he couldn't help but join in.

Shino, who had just gotten all his things unpacked in the Crow's Nest, looked down from the window and saw the chase going on down on deck, and all he could is sigh in exasperation.

"Uh, Spike?" Shino called. "Your brothers are chasing Blair again."

"Wait, Blair's here?!" Spike asked in disbelief.

Down on deck, the two werewolf pups and the big white wolf-dog continued to chase the hapless cat girl.

"AAAAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Blair screamed before she scrambled behind Sanji, who looked down at the three dogs with a furious expression, causing them to stop chasing Blair and cower before him.

_Uh-oh,_ Blizzard thought.

Blair, who had returned to her human form, peeked over Sanji's shoulder.

"Stay away from Miss Blair, you mutts!" Sanji barked.

"Hey!" Spike snapped as she approached the cook. "You leave my little brothers alone! No one can talk to them that way but me!"

"_That's right!"_ the two pups agreed, but then Mark's eyes went wide in realization.

"_Hey!"_ Mark shouted. _"You really meant that, didn't you?!"_

"First of all, both you change back into your human forms, NOW," Spike ordered, and the twins soon complied. "Second, quit chasing Blair! Third, you guys have gotta be on your best behavior, otherwise I'm gonna send you both back to Death City! You got me?!"

"Okay, Spike," the brothers said.

"Good," Spike said. "Sorry, Blair."

"It's okay," Blair answered, "but please control your brothers, next time."

"Oh, don't worry," Spike said. "Next time, I'll keep them on a short leash. A VERY SHORT LEASH."

Mark and Will both gulped at that.

"All right, boys," Spike said. "You know the drill. You got your toothbrushes?"

"Yes," the boys answered.

"What about your pajamas?" Spike asked.

"We got those, too," the boys replied.

"Good," Spike said. "Then go to the bathroom, brush your fangs, change into those PJs, and then head on up to the Crow's Nest and go straight to bed, and no back-talk."

Not wanting to be scolded by their sister, again, Mark and Will grabbed their toothbrushes and pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

"_Jeez, Spike,"_ Blizzard said. _"You sure know how to take charge, huh?"_

"What can I say?" Spike asked. "When my Mom says I'm in charge, I'm in charge. By the way, speaking of brothers, I gotta check on one more little brother of mine."

"_Who?"_ Blizzard asked.

"Crona," Spike answered.

"_Wait, Crona's your brother, too?"_ Blizzard asked.

"Yeah," Spike said. "My adopted brother actually."

"_Ah,"_ Blizzard said. _"Makes sense."_

With that, Spike headed to the men's quarters, where she found Usopp, Franky, Brook, Chopper, Kid, Black*Star, and Crona all getting ready for bed. Well, the rest of the boys were getting ready for bed. Black*Star has pretty much fallen asleep on the floor and Kid just couldn't stop looking at the two battle axes mounted on the wall for decoration.

"Such lovely symmetry," he said. "It's absolutely perfect!"

"Is he just keep staring at those axes?" Usopp questioned.

"Yeah," Spike answered. "You get used to it after a while."

She then approached Crona, who is dressed up in his red-and-white striped pajamas and is about to lie down on the sofa.

"You okay, Crona?" the werewolf girl asked.

"Mm-hmm," Crona hummed in reply.

"Good," Spike said before she ruffled his pink hair. "Try not to let Ragnarok keep you up tonight, okay?"

"Yes, Spike," Crona said.

"Goodnight, Crona," Spike said.

"Goodnight, sister," Crona said.

With that, Spike stood up and walked out of the room, but no sooner did she leave that Maka soon entered.

"You come to check on Crona, too?" asked Franky.

"How'd you know?" Maka asked.

"Lucky guess," Usopp answered as he got in his bunk.

Maka approached Crona, who looked away from her with a soft blush on his cheeks.

"You okay, Crona?" the Scythe Meister asked.

"I should be okay for the night," Crona answered. "Spike just came to say goodnight to me. I'm really glad I have her for a sister."

"Of course," Maka said. "Spike loves you."

"I love her, too," Crona answered.

"Okay, Crona," Maka said. "We've got a big day ahead of us, so try and get as much as you can, tonight."

"Yes, Maka," Crona answered.

"And Ragnarok," Maka called, causing the little demon to sprout from Crona's back.

"Yes~?" Ragnarok asked.

"If Crona comes to me saying that you woke him, again, you're asking for a Maka Chop to the face," Maka warned. "Understand?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Ragnarok answered, a bit fearfully.

"Good," Maka said. "Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight, Maka," Crona said.

"Yeah, goodnight," Ragnarok answered.

_Bitch,_ the weapon thought.

With that, Maka turned and left the room.

"Goodnight, Maka!" Usopp called.

"Sweet dreams!" Chopper called, as well.

"Goodnight," Maka called back. "And thanks again for letting us stay here!"

"No problem!" Franky said.

That's when Sanji entered with Blair following behind him.

"Hey, Sanji!" Franky said. "Who's the witch chick?"

"I'm Blair!" Blair answered. "I'm gonna be bunking with you guys, tonight and-" she gasped when she spotted Chopper, who is sitting in Blizzard's bed.

"Aww~!" Blair cried as she scooped the little blue-nosed reindeer in her arms and cuddled him. "What a cute little raccoon dog~!"

"I'm a reindeer, not a raccoon dog!" Chopper argued.

"You're still so cute!" Blair said. "I could just kiss that little blue nose of yours!"

Chopper blushed when he heard those words, and started to squirm around in the cat girl's arms.

"Shut up~! Saying something like that won't make me happy, you jerk!" the little reindeer exclaimed, wiggling his arms happily.

"Oh, boy," Usopp said. "Something tells me this is gonna be a long night."

XXX

Meanwhile, in a room underneath Zoro and Robin's room, Luffy and Nami are sitting on a heart-shaped mattress, under the covers together, ready for a good night's sleep…almost.

Luffy just couldn't stop giggling.

"Luffy, it's bedtime," Nami said. "Go to sleep already, okay?"

"I can't help it, Nami!" Luffy said. "I'm too excited! We made so many new friends today, and then we get to go on an adventure tomorrow!"

"Yes, Luffy, I understand," Nami said. "Now get some sleep, already."

"Okay, Nami," Luffy replied as he lied back down, but it was only three seconds later that he began to giggle again.

"Luffy," Nami called.

"I'm sorry!" Luffy apologized. "I can't help it!"

"Luffy, look," Nami said as she sat up. "I'm really happy that we met Maka, Soul, and the others, but…if they came from another world, then you know what that means right?"

"It means…they're gonna join the crew later?" Luffy asked.

"No, Luffy!" Nami said. "For goodness sake. Luffy…if they're from another world, it means they don't belong here."

Luffy's smile suddenly fell when he heard those words.

"I just don't want you to get too attached to them, okay?" Nami asked. "Once they finish their job here, they'll go back home, and…I know how sad it'll make you, so…for your sake, don't get too attached to them, all right?"

A pause.

"Oh, Luffy, don't start using the silent treatment on me-"

Suddenly, the sound of loud snoring fills her ears. She looked to her right and saw, to her disbelief, that Luffy is now sound asleep and snoring away.

_Oh, of course he'd just fall asleep!_ Nami thought. _Typical Luffy. Well, at least he's not laughing anymore._

As Luffy continued to snore, Nami couldn't help but smile at him. Then, she gave him a soft peck on the cheek as he snoozed before she lied down, herself.

"Goodnight, my captain," she said as she fell asleep, too.

XXX

Meanwhile, not too far away, there is a huge galleon sailing the waters of the New World. It is dark blue and its figurehead is shaped liked the head of a vicious dragon, its fangs bare and its forked tongue sticking out of its maw. The flag on the sails looked like a skull-and-crossbones, only the skull had red eyes and a blue braided beard on its chin and two sabers for crossbones.

Inside the galley, there are seven figures sitting at a table.

The first is a lanky, tanned skin man with white, red, and green markings painted all over his body, like an aboriginal. His head is completely bald, and he has what appears to be a bone sticking through his nose, like some sort of ornament. The only thing he has for an article of clothing is nothing but a dark red loincloth.

The second is a tall, burly brute with a dark green shirt with the word "HIT" written in big purple letters. He has long, lavender hair that reached down to his waist and a pair of yellow trousers with a blue sash tied around the waist. He appeared wearing a pair of brass knuckles with spikes on them.

The third is a middle-sized man with a well-built physique. He has slicked back black hair, a magenta vest with a rose in the breast pocket, and a pair of brown puffy pants. On his feet are a pair of black leather shoes, and attached to his snake-skin belt are two knives.

The fourth is a rather short man wearing a black shirt with a red hourglass on it and light blue pants and is wearing a pair of bifocals. He has dark brown hair that is styled like that of a spider's eight legs.

The fifth is a woman of at least 25 years of age. She is wearing a purple dress and a pair of sapphire earrings. She also wears a pair of dark blue gloves and has her light blue hair done up in a bun.

The sixth is a woman of much younger age. She looked to be about 17 years old. She has dark blue hair with hot pink streaks and has an almost deadpanned expression, like how Crona used to be. She wears a yellowish-green shirt with the word "CRIMIN" in big blue letters, and a short lavender skirt, and she also has a saber strapped to her back.

The seventh and final figure is a tall man, not very muscular, but still very well-built, much like the third figure. He has tanned skin, is wearing a black-and-red striped shirt, a pair of dark brown trousers, and a red sash around the waist. Around his neck are not one, not two, but three pearl necklaces, each a different color of red, blue, and white. Also, he is wearing a navy blue coat with the sleeves empty, like a cape, and a black tricorne hat with the same mark as the galleon's sail. His prominent feature, however, had to be his long, blue, braided beard.

Just then, another man came in, wearing a chef's outfit, carrying a large silver tureen. He placed the tureen on the table and opened it, revealing it to be full of not food of any kind, but these balls of light blue glowing orbs: human souls.

"Dinner is served, Captain Bluebeard," said the man.

"Thank you," said the man, now identified as Bluebeard, as he picked up a fork and stabbed one of the souls with it. Then, as he brought the soul to his lips, he opened his mouth, revealing it be full of sharp teeth, and then ate it, a trail of saliva trickling down his chin.

His men soon followed suit as they, too, grabbed their utensils and proceeded to eat the souls one-by-one.

"Can you feel it, my friends?" asked Bluebeard. "With each human soul we consume, the power we gain becomes even more great!"

"Yes, my dear," said the woman with her hair in a bun. "I can practically feel the power coursing through my veins."

"We should've done something like this a long time ago," said the short, spider-haired man as he ate another soul.

"Yes," said the black-haired man. "Granted, these souls don't really have a particular flavor, but the texture is excellent, wouldn't you concur?"

The aboriginal man seemed to make these clicking and whistling sounds with his tongue.

"He says 'My voodoo should be much stronger after this'," said the burly man with the brass knuckles.

The 17-year-old didn't speak one word. She just made this little hum as she continued to eat some of the human souls, herself.

Bluebeard snickered as he stood up from his seat and proceeded to call the other six by name.

"Turu…"

The aboriginal man looked up at his captain.

"Judith…"

The black-haired man glanced at Bluebeard.

"Naomi…"

The teenage girl slowly craned her head to look at Bluebeard, as well.

"Brokko…"

The burly, long-haired man looked at Bluebeard, also.

"Reggie…"

The spider-haired man smirked upon hearing his name being called.

"…and Lilith, my dear…"

The woman with her hair in a bun chuckled and looked at her captain.

"The time has come," said Bluebeard. "With these souls, we will gain more power than any other pirate in the New World, and the One Piece shall be mine! However, we must prove to everyone just how powerful we are…and to start…we will take the head of one of the most wanted rookies in the world!"

"And just who might that be, love?" asked Lilith.

Bluebeard as he reached into his coat and pulled out a dagger, and then stabbed it into the table…or rather…into a wanted poster of a boy with a big toothy grin and a straw hat.

"…Straw Hat Luffy," Bluebeard said before he began to cackle.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

Review, please!


	4. Bluebeard's Attack

This chapter has been written by yellowpikmin88 from Deviantart. Please credit him, too.

* * *

Soul EaterXOne Piece Collab Special! Ch. 4- Bluebeard's attack: vengeance is sworn?

* * *

The next morning on the Sunny followed its simple routine, but with a few twists this time due to the DWMA gang now living with the Straw-hats. Brook made his way onto the deck to begin his morning wake-up song which was thanked by Nami's shoe to his afro but also one of Maka's books.

"What do you have against the concept of a good night sleep, bone bag?!" Soul roared.

"But it's morning, Soul my lad" Brook replied pulling Maka's book out of his hair.

"Barely!" Meanwhile, in the men's quarters, the rest of the boys we're grumpily waking up from Brook's song and Soul's rant. Usopp was the first to sit up only for his long nose to come into contact with two round, soft objects.

"Well aren't you a bit forward, long nose~. Feel like playing with me~?" Blair purred as she moved her chest closer to the now terrified sniper's red face.

"RAPE! SUCCUBUS!" he squawked before grabbing spray bottle next to his bunk and spraying her with it. Luckily for Blair it was just water, but being a cat, it was more than enough to send her scurrying away in her kitty form.

"Yeah you'll have to get used to that. Blair's really fond of guys." Black Star said.

"Oh goody. Now I'll have to sleep with one eye open every night." Franky grunted as he got out of his bunk, but as he walked past the mirror in the room, he noticed something that caught his attention. "Hey! What happened to my shoulder?!" he said. It is revealed that the writing on Franky's left shoulder had been painted backwards. The cyborg's eyes narrowed before he faced Kid.

"You're welcome. Now you're perfectly balanced."

"STRONG RIGHT!" **KA-POW!** The reaper was sent crashing through the wall of the men's quarters by the cyborg's iron fist.

"NEVER PAINT ON ME AGAIN YA BRAT!" Franky snapped.

"Breakfast's in five minutes, everyone~!" Sanji called. On cue, Luffy immediately came speeding out of the women's quarters and into the kitchen.

"FOOD~! FOOD~! FOOD~!" he cheered, Nami closely following him, along with Maka, Soul, Robin and Tsubaki. It was then that Shino, Spike and Zoro came down from the crow's nest, the swordsman having finished his morning training and for some reason; Mark and Will were sitting on his shoulders.

"They wanted me to prove I could hold their weight while doing press-ups: piece of cake." He grinned.

"That's no surprise when it comes to you, Zoro." Robin smiled. As the group made their way into the galley, they found the rest of the group waiting for them. Mark and Will then hopped down from Zoro's shoulders, before they noticed Nami. They blushed slightly.

"_Wow. She's pretty._" Mark thought, before the navigator noticed them as well. She smiled at them before walking over and kneeling down to their height.

"You must be Spike's little brothers. It's so nice to meet you boys." She said as she petted them both on their heads making them smile goofily at her. "Wait let me guess who's who." She then tapped a finger to the corner of her mouth before smiling. "You're Mark, cause you have the mark of spades." She said as she pointed to the black spade on the boy's shirt.

"Yeah that's me!" he giggled.

"So you must be Will." Nami said.

"Yes. It's really nice to meet you, Miss." Will said with a small bow.

"You're really pretty." Mark added with a small blush. "Like a mermaid, only with legs."

"Aww you really mean that~?!" Nami swooned, holding her hands to her cheeks before pulling both of the pups into a hug as she cuddled them. "You're so cute~! I've only just met you and I already love you both to bits~!" the twins blushed heavily at the sudden hug, but smiled as they hugged her back. Luffy did his best to hold back the jealousy that was now bubbling inside him.

"Foods up~!" Sanji said as he arrived with everyone's breakfast. "Here you go, Blizzard. Just how you like it." He said as he set down some bacon with a small spread of peanut butter on top for the wolf-dog who barked happily, while Sanji petted him. "And for you, Blair dear. I hope you enjoy it." He grinned as he set down a fish for her with a small bow tied around it.

"Thank you, Sanji." She said before momentarily turning back to her human form to give him a peck on the cheek. This of course sent the man shooting off with another nosebleed until he hit the ceiling.

"WHOA!" Mark and Will both gasped in surprise.

"SANJI~!" Chopper squealed as he went to treat him.

"Damn, and I thought mine were bad." Soul said as he went back to eating his toast.

"He makes you look like nothing." Maka agreed.

"Are you the captain?" Luffy turned to see Mark and Will sitting next to him.

"Yep, that's me. Monkey D. Luffy." He flashed his trademark grin.

"Awesome. I've always wanted to meet a pirate captain." Will beamed, his eyes sparkling.

"Who's the pretty mermaid by the way, Captain Luffy?" Mark asked who was looking at Nami with his head in his palm. The latter, hearing this, blushed again from his compliment and blew him a kiss, causing the squirt to glow red again.

"That's Nami. She's the navigator of the ship." Luffy said as he looked at Mark staring dreamily at her. "And she's also my girlfriend." Mark then snapped out of his love-struck state.

"Really?"

"Yeah. See the story is, Nami was once a slave to this bad guys named Arlong." Luffy said quietly so Nami wouldn't hear the painful memory. "He took over her entire village and killed her mother."

"That's horrible." Will said sadly.

"Yeah, but she made a deal with him that if she got him lots of money she'd buy the village back and free all her friends, as well as her sister, Nojiko. But the bastard never kept his promise. That's when he made her cry." The captain clenched his fist at that part. "So Me, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp went straight to his headquarters and I beat him to a pulp. Nobody, but nobody makes my Nami cry and gets to brag about it."

"Wow, you're a hero, Captain Luffy." Will said.

"Nah! I'm no hero. I respect heroes but I don't wanna be one." Luffy grinned.

"But…you saved Nami and her village. That's what heroes do." Will said.

"Well that's what most people say. But here's the way I see it. Heroes are completely selfless and never care about their own wellbeing. Say for example there's a huge piece of meat. A pirate crew would have a feast with it. But a hero would give the meat to someone else. And I want all the meat."

"But you we're being selfless when you-" Mark tried to say, but Usopp put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Don't bother, kid. Even though everyone he's befriended sees him as a hero, he's the only one who doesn't. That being said, you can still view him as one if you want. Just don't say it to his face cause he'll just disagree."

"You're Usopp aren't you? One of the guys who helped Captain Luffy beat that Arlong guy." Will said.

"That's right. I'm the great Captain Usopp. Leader of eight thousand men!" The sniper grinned, pointing his thumb to himself.

"That's so cool~!" Mark grinned.

"Isn't it~?!" said Chopper who'd shown up.

"Of course Luffy was the one who beat Arlong. I couldn't damage my Captain's honour. But I did take out one of Arlong's men with nothing but a bottle of sake and a hammer."

"No way!" Mark, Will and Chopper gasped.

"Yes way! I covered the bastard in booze and set him on fire and then smashed his head in with my hammer. His face looked like a cauliflower when I was done with him." The two pups and reindeer laughed at the description.

"So how did you beat Arlong, Captain Luffy?" Will asked.

"Well I stuck my foot up like this," Luffy began as he stretched his leg upward taking the pups by surprise. "and then smashed it back down on his skull. I sent him crashing through ten floors."

"Your…your leg." Mark said.  
"Oh yeah, you don't know yet. I ate a devil fruit. It's a magic type of fruit that grows in our world. The one I ate turned me into a rubber." Luffy said as he stretched his mouth with his finger. But he then got annoyed when Mark and Will started grabbing parts of his body and began pulling them.

"You're like a big rubber band." Will laughed.

"Hey stop that!" Luffy said as he pulled them off.

"So you beat up Arlong with one kick."

"Well I did a few other things before that." Luffy smiled.

"And then I bet Nami ran up to you and gave you a big kiss for saving her." Mark said.

"Actually Nami didn't become my girlfriend until Brook joined the crew." Luffy said. "But I fell in love with her the moment I met her." The navigator smiled at him as he looked at her.

"You're really lucky, Captain Luffy. I bet most men would kill to get someone as beautiful as her." Mark said.

"Maybe." Luffy snickered as he ruffled the boy's hair. "But it doesn't matter cause Nami only love s me. And I only love her. No woman could ever replace her."

"And no man could ever replace you, you big goofball." Nami said as she wrapped her arms around her captain and kissed him passionately. Mark couldn't help but pout a little at seeing this.

"You liiiiike her~." Will said teasingly, making his brother blush from embarrassment.

"Yeah, well you like Tsubaki." He said back which made Will stop snickering.

XXX

After the group had finished eating, Maka, Soul, Kid, Luffy and Robin had gone into town to see if they could find any information on Bluebeard.

"I say we try that bar again. We need to apologise for the trouble we caused anyway." Maka said.

"I concur. I was never one to just leave without taking responsibility for my actions." Kid agreed. As the group arrived back at 'The Tourniquet' the first thing they saw when they walked through the door was the bartender pointing a shotgun at them.

"Look just turn around and get out of my bar! I don't wanna have to use this thing!" he said.

"Hey if you ask me, I figured you'd be glad to see people coming in here again after last night, even if it was us. You're business isn't exactly booming." Soul snorted.

"Soul!" Maka snapped. "Look, Sir. Luffy's not to blame for this. You see me and my friends are on a mission to hunt down a very dangerous pirate. We got the wrong idea and thought Luffy and his crew were in cahoots with him. I'll take full responsibility for what happened, but please could you just answer a few questions and we won't set foot in here again." The man lowered his weapon as he looked at the scythe meister.

"What do you want to know?"

"By any chance have you heard of a man named Jules Blake, AKA Bluebeard?" Maka asked. The bartender almost dropped his gun when he heard the name.

"You're searching for that devil?! I'd get as a faraway from the New World if I were you, young lady."

"So you do know of him. Do you have a name?" Robin asked, trying to lighten the tension a little.

"It's Carl," the man said. "Carl Turner."

"Well Mr Turner," Kid asked "how is it you know of Bluebeard?"

"Have you ever wondered why this town's so quiet, boy?" Carl stated. "Why the streets are always empty at night? And why all the windows are shut? And especially why we're all tightly lipped folk?" Apparently the man was able to notice when the group figured out the answer. "That's right. That sonofabitch came to our island eight months ago. We tried to defend ourselves but he squashed us like gnats. And what's worse. It would have been bad enough if he just killed us like most pirates. No offense to you Straw-hat." He then said to Luffy. "Unlike most of the world I know you're no murderer. Nor you Nico Robin. It's Blake the world should really be afraid of. He's a monster. And I don't mean figuratively either. You're probably gonna call me crazy when I tell you what happened next."

"We won't." Maka said. "Please continue."

"Blake and his crew took about three hundred of the islands villagers, including myself." Carl began. "We were all crammed into the bowel of the ship like sardines and the only time the door was opened was when they took about ten of us at a time. They took you to this room that reeked of blood…and then they slaughtered you like vermin. But that's not the worst part. There was something strange about the way they killed their victims. Cause every time a person died, this round, glowing, blue blob came out of their body. Mostly they would be put into a large crate, but this one time, I saw one of the crew pick one out and…they ate it." Robin and Luffy, by this point looked really disturbed, while Kid, Maka and Soul didn't crack their faces. "At first I had no idea what was going on and what it was they were harvesting, but the more and more I thought about it, the more I came to realise what they were….human souls. I never thought such a thing could be seen by the naked eye, let alone cut out of a person's screaming gut and feasted on!" by this point the man seemed close to tears. "So many of my friends met that damned fate. Even my little brother Howard." Luffy swallowed a lump in his throat when he heard that and saw Carl weeping.

"How did you escape?" he asked.

"It seemed that the Bluebeards only had taste for the strong and the healthy. So I did the only thing I could do. I starved myself. I refused to eat and drink whatever they offered me, despite the fact they we're practically making us eat shit. I starved myself for about a whole month until when they came for me, they saw me as unappetising. They threw me in a dinghy and even mocked me by giving me a log pose, because the cocky bastards were so sure I'd never make it back home before I died. But I sure proved them wrong didn't I?! HOW'D YA LIKE THAT YOU FUCKING DEMONS?!" he then roared at the air. "Sorry. Excuse me for my language." He then apologised.

"It's okay. We know what you're feeling, Mr Turner." Maka said. "And we're very grateful for you answering our questions, but the thing is, me and my friends have been tasked to find Bluebeard and kill him. And this time…it'll be him who gets his soul eaten. Will you tell us where we can find him?"

"…No."

"Wh…What?"

"You heard me. I said no." Carl repeated.

"Did you suddenly forget what you just told us, man?!" Soul shouted. "You should be jumping for joy knowing we plan to kill the bastard!"

"Of course I want him dead! I'd give up my legs to snap his neck with my own bare hands, but you don't know who you're dealing with! The man's the devil in the flesh! And the last thing I want to do is be responsible for you kids losing your lives and your souls to him! I'd never sleep again. But then I hardly ever do nowadays since he always haunts my dreams."

"Sir we may be young but we're no ordinary children. You've seen what we are. We're trained warriors who defend innocent people like you to protect and preserve peace. And since you know about the Straw-hats you must have some level of trust in them knowing how strong they are." Maka said. "Please Mr Turner, you have to trust us. We promise we will bring Bluebeard to justice and return with his soul to show the entire village. And you'll never have a sleepless night again." Carl looked at his feet for a few long moments before sighing.

"You've really gone off the deep end this time, Carlton." He muttered to himself before turning back to Maka and Luffy. "If you wanna find Blake, you'll find him at Dragon Fang Peak. It's where he and his crew hide like the rats they are. Hell rats have more humanity than those demons. Here." He then reached into his back pocket before tossing something towards Maka who caught it. It was eternal pose to Dragon Fang Peak. "It'll get you to him in one piece. And take this one too." He then tossed her another pose. This one was marked for True Blood Island. "So you can keep your promise and come back with the bastard's soul. And when you do, I'll be sure to have a table reserved for you and the rest of your gang." he then said with a small smile.

"We can't thank you enough, Mr Turner. And we won't let you down." Maka said bowing low in thankfulness before they turned to leave.

"And Straw-hat!" Luffy turned as Carl called to him. "Be sure to keep your guard up. Blake may be popular here, but he's barely known throughout the rest of the world. So it's likely if he ever crosses paths with you and your crew of misfits, he'll be sure to try and take your souls to up his ego. So be sure to keep a tight grip on them. This world needs pirates like you Straw-hats." Luffy looked at him before grinning confidently at him with a thumbs up.

"You just have the table ready for when we get back."

XXX

After the group had returned after getting the information from Carl, they planned to set sail for Dragon Fang Peak in the late afternoon so as of now everyone went about their daily business, and even the DWMA gang found something do or someone to help or spend time with. Luffy, Usopp and Blizzard spent a good few hours playing with Mark and Will, the games being tag, hide and seek and they even raced each other in teams: Luffy and Usopp riding Blizzard, and Chopper riding in a little chariot (made by Franky) being pulled by Mark and Will. After that Chopper had to get on with his medicine but soon found himself in a bit of a pickle when Patty and Blair started to cuddle him and kiss his nose and cheeks, which the reindeer didn't mind at first but soon became a bit smothered by their affection and had to resort to hiding behind Spike who told the girls to give him some space. Kid seemed to have taken an admiration to Usopp's sniping skills, being one himself, so the two decided to spend some target practise together to see who had the better aim. So far they were evenly matched. Black Star had been challenging Zoro to see who could train the hardest, both swordsmen switching to larger weights every minute and going to the length of lifting them with both their feet and hands. Much like Kid and Usopp, they were evenly matched. Soul, believe it or not, had been spending time with Brook who, through some convincing, had asked the scythe to show him his skills in piano playing, even though he didn't want to.

"You have talent with this instrument unlike any I've seen in a long time, my boy." The skeleton had said to him after Maka had told him about her partner's underutilised talent. "If you don't embrace it, you're not embracing part of who you are. What does it matter if there are others who are better than you? I'm a musical marvel and even I know that there are others who are better than me. The only opinions that matter are the ones from those you hold dear, and as far as I know you're friends admire you for what you're capable of, and I know that playing for them is what will make them smile."

"You have a quite a way with words, old man." Soul smirked, before sitting at the small piano that Brook owned. "This is the kind of person I am." He added before he began to play the instrument. Throughout the Sunny everyone could hear the scythe's music. The DWMA gang smiled warmly as they recognised the melody, while the Straw-hats seemed rather surprised.

"I didn't know Brook could play like that." Nami said who was sitting in the aquarium bar with Mark who had his head in her lap while sleeping, Liz, Crona, Shino and Spike. "It's a different style completely."

"That's not Brook." Liz smiled. "It's Soul."

"Soul can play piano?"

"He's has to be the best pianist I've met." Shino grinned.

"It's not often we get to hear him play." Crona smiled as well.

"Guess that bone-head musician of yours got through to him." Spike smirked.

"Well he's a wonderful piano player." Nami said as she gently raked her fingers through Mark's hair. Maka and Tsubaki, meanwhile had joined Robin in the library. Maka's reasons being obvious while Tsubaki seemed to find the room very relaxing. What's more, Will had wanted to spend some time with his crush due to Mark getting to spend time with Nami, so the dark arm was currently enjoying reading him a story as he curled up next to her, which both Maka and Robin found really adorable.

"It's so wonderful here." Maka said as she sipped the tea that Sanji had brought her. "All of you are so compassionate and kind and fun and you took us in so quickly."

"Well that's just how we are. Especially Luffy." Robin smiled.

"You're like one big happy family." Tsubaki said

"That's because we are, Tsubaki." Said Robin. "Luffy loves us all so very much. He puts himself before us in every situation and he'll stop at nothing to see us all fulfil our dreams. That's why we'll stay with him to the very end." She sighed happily at the thought of her crew. "Come to think of it, you lot are quite like a family too. We're not that different when you look at it."

"Absolutely." Maka agreed. "We all look out for each other and everyone in the DWMA looks out for each other. Lord Death always watches over us and Stein and Marie are like second parents to us. Or first parents in Crona's case." She smiled at the last part. "Even in just our little team, we all love each other and we all play a part in how we work, even Mark, Will and Blair, when they choose to tag along."

"We really aren't that different are we?" Tsubaki smiled.

"We'll you tow certainly aren't. You're both motherly and fuss over us all when we aren't pulling our wait. Believe me I can tell, and not just by looking at your souls." Maka giggled. **KABOOM!-BOOM!-BOOM!** The group jumped as the sunny suddenly shook from the blasts they'd just heard.

"**PIRATES! ON THE STARBOARD BOW!**" Usopp's voice screamed from the intercom. The whole crew rushed out onto the deck to see a large galleon ship approaching the Sunny with the figurehead of a dragon, and as the huge ship pulled up alongside, they could see six figures on board; four men and two women. They are revealed to be Turu, Judith, Naomi, Reggie, Lilith and Bluebeard himself. Brokko seemed to be absent.

"Will, Mark. Get inside." Spike said.

"But we can fight." Mark tried to say.

"NOW!" she barked. The pups backed away into the aquarium bar.

"Usopp. Blizzard." Luffy said. "Protect the kids."

"You got it, Captain." The sniper king replied before following Mark and Will, along with Blizzard.

"Blair maybe you should go too." Maka said, but the cat shook her head before transforming.

"I can definitely fight, Maka. Besides I still have eight lives left."

"AVAST THERE~!" Bluebeard then called. "You must be the Straw-hat pirates. Am I wrong?!"

"Take a good long look and ask yourself again." Zoro sneered. Bluebeard smirked back at the swordsman's comment.

"Sharp tongue you've got there, Roronoa. Now how about you step forward and face me, Straw-hat?" Luffy did so and glared at him. "I see you've increased your crew tenfold. I have to say I'm impressed."

"They're not my crew." Luffy said. "They're my friends."

"What's the difference? From what I've heard anyone you consider a friend is a crew member to you."

"Are you the one known as Bluebeard?" Kid asked stepping forward.

"…Yes I am. What's it to you, boy?"

"Girls…" Kid held his hands out as Liz and Patty glowed pink before morphing into pistols, taking the Bluebeard's by surprise.

"What the hell?!" Reggie exclaimed. Soul, Tsubaki and Spike soon followed, while Crona stuck his hand into his liquefied stomach and pulled out Ragnarok.

"They have devil fruit powers!" Lilith said in shock. Turu made several gibberish clicks and whistles.

"He said that's impossible." Judith translated the voodoo master's language. "Both those girls turned into identical weapons, and there's no two of the same fruit in the world.

"Then what are these children. SPEAK!" Bluebeard thundered.

"Blood-thirsty murderer, Jules Blake." Maka said slowly, her hair concealing her eyes. "You and your crew are found guilty of the murder of two thirds of the population of True-blood Island and the consumption of their souls."

"How do you know that?!" Lilith demanded.

"You're in no position to ask us questions." Shino said before looking at her. "Bitch."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Bluebeard snarled. "Oh well who cares what you say?! We're going to eat you all anyhow! Your soul will give me strength unlike any other, Straw-hat." He then said to Luffy, his own mouth beginning to salivate a little. "You're girl looks tasty too. And once I and my crew have feasted on every one of you, we'll be unstoppable. I'll surpass Blackbeard! I'll surpass Red-hair! I'll surpass the world and the One Piece WILL BE MINE!"

"No." Luffy said. "Cause the One Piece belongs to me and my crew."

"Jules Blake." Maka spoke again before looking up with an authoritative look. "Your murdering days are done. Your soul is mine!"

"NO! _YOUR_ soul is _MINE!_" Bluebeard screeched. "ATTACK!" the bluebeards let out a battle cry as they leapt toward the Sunny's deck. Crona raised his sword in front of his face.

"**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH~!**" Ragnarok screamed, though since the attack was aimed at the Bluebeards, the Straw-hats and the DWMA gang remained unfazed. "Screech BETA!" the swordsman spun like a top before taking off towards Bluebeards, a purple and black aura swirling around his body, causing the bluebeards to scatter to avoid him. This of course left them wide open for Kid to unload a barrage of shots at them. **BANG!-BANG!-BANG!-BANG!-BANG!** The attacks hit many of the Bluebeards but only seemed to annoy them as they roared in anger and landed on deck.

"Straw-hat is mine!" Bluebeard roared as he flew towards Luffy. "I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL!" Luffy responded by stretching his fist back and twisting it, while also coating it in haki.

"Swallow this. Gum Gum RIFLE!" **KA-POW!** The man's iron first connected with Bluebeard's gut sending the man flying back from his prey as Maka then charged at him and tried to slice him in half only for Bluebeard to quickly get away in time. Sanji and Kid were currently locked in combat with Reggie who'd morphed into a gigantic tarantula. The huge arachnid lunged at Kid but he was ready.

"Say 'Ah'" he spoke nonchalantly as he stuck Liz and Patty in Reggie's mandibles.

"_KID DON'T PUT ME IN ITS MOUTH~!_" Liz wailed in terror. **BANG!** Kid fired a shot into the spider man's mouth sending him staggering back.

"NOW, SANJI!" Kid called. The chef (who was currently in the air with his moon walk) nodded.

"Diable Jambe! Poele a Friere: Spectre!" **BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!** The blonde man delivered many flaming kicks to Reggie's back. The spider hissed before shooting a stream of silk at Sanji, catching him by the foot and slamming him on the deck. **WHAM!**

"AAARRGHH! IT BURNS!" Sanji roared as he ripped the silk off to reveal his left calf now burned by the webbing, though he still managed to stand. "Those were my favourite trousers you shitty spider! Now I'm REALLY gonna step you like a bug! HELL MEMORIES!" **FWOOSH!** Reggie went up in flames as the cook delivered a full body inferno.

"My turn." Kid said.

"**LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!**" he, Liz and Patty said, before the pistols morphed into two menacing silver cannons. Each donning Lord Death's mask on the sides of their barrels.

"Execution mode, activated. Prepare to die." Kid said.

"_Resonance stable, noise 0.7%_" Liz stated as rings of red light began to appear around the cannons, before taking the shape of Lord Death's mask at the front of the barrels.

"_Black Needle 'soul wavelength' fully charged._" Patty added.

"_Feedback in 5…4…3…2…1_" Liz and patty took turns as they counted down the number.

"_Ready to fire!_" Patty cheered. The red light vanished into the cannons which Kid pointed at Reggie.

"Death Cannon." He said in a sinister tone. **KABOOM!** Two enormous balls of energy were shot form the cannons before coming into contact with Reggie, resulting in a huge plume of skull shaped smoke, which when it settled revealed a charred Reggie who'd returned to human form. Winners: Kid and Sanji.

Meanwhile Naomi was facing off against Brook and Crona who both had their swords ready. Both swordsmen lunged at her, but the little mute girl seemed surprisingly fast as she suddenly vanished.

"Where'd she go?" Crona said but both he and Brook were taken by surprise as when she appeared again and struck both of them with a slash of her sword. Brook's head fell to the ground while a large gash split across Crona's chest. Naomi looked satisfied but then…

"Hold it." Brook spoke. Naomi looked in surprise as Brook's head floated back up and reattached to his neck, while Crona also stood up and turned to face her, revealing a mad grin on his face.

"Did you know my blood is black?" he said in a childish voice before Ragnarok changed shape. His blade became more curved and wide at the base while a large moth with square teeth appeared on the edge as well as a pair of slanted eye holes, and the blade became coated with a purple aura. "Screech gamma." In a flash Crona shot towards her and began to deliver a flurry of wild and quick, but strong slashes. **Clang!-Clang!-Clang!-Clang!-Clang!-Clang!-Clang!** Naomi struggled as Crona continued to attack her, until Ragnarok's mouth bit down on her sword, trapping it. But it was then that she noticed brook standing behind her with his back to her.

"Thank you very much, Crona, my lad. You were able to keep her still while I delivered the finishing blow." He then began to sheath his sword. "It's going to be very cold, so get ready. Song of scratches." He murmured. "BLIZZARD SLICE!" **Clink!** His sword fully sheathed. **CRINK!** A line of ice cut its way up Naomi's middle, but being mute, she couldn't scream as she fell defeated. Winners: Brook and Crona.

Robin, Chopper and Blair we're currently fighting Judith who had been trying to use his charms to trick the two women, which almost had done with Blair if Robin hadn't snapped her out of it and now the cat was pissed for being swooned.

"Pum-Pumpkin-Pumpkin-Pumpkin. HALLOWEEN CANNON!" the cat-witch sent a glowing orange pumpkin shooting towards the man which exploded in a blast of purple smoke shaped like the fruit it resembled. "That'll teach a man to try and woo me so he can kill-" **POW!** Judith, at that moment came flying out of the cloud (slightly burned) and delivered a kick to Blair's stomach knocking the wind out of her and cracking two of her ribs.

"BLAIR!" Chopper and Robin cried.

"Ocho fleur." **Fwip!** Eight arms surrounded the man's body and held him tightly, as Chopper morphed into his horn point.

"Horn Cannon…ELF!" Chopper shot forward with the triple the speed and strength of a cannonball before connecting with Judith and sending him shooting back onto the galleon. Winners: Blair, Robin and Chopper.  
Meanwhile Zoro and Black Star were going up against Turu who was armed with a blow gun which fired small darts.

"They're probably poisoned so be careful they don't hit you." Zoro said.

"HA!-HA!-HA! A little poison won't kill a big star like me!" Black Star laughed. "You're goin' down witch doctor!" he then swung Tsubaki (in her Kusarigama mode) above his head like a lasso before swinging her at Turu who ducked before blowing a dart at Black Star who narrowly dodged it. But then surprisingly the voodoo man sped past Black Star and instead went for Zoro who was taken by surprise as the man drew a small dagger with a bone handle.

"What the hell?!" Zoro said. **Swip!** Turu made a quick slash just above Zoro's head before a few strands of green hair fell into his palm. "What is your game, paint-face?!" Zoro barked, but Turu made no reaction. Instead he reached into a pouch strung on his shoulder…and pulled out a little doll with just a pair of tiny black beads for eyes and stubby arms and legs. Zoro instantly recognised it as Turu tied the strand of his hair onto the doll. "Oh shit. BLACK STAR STOP HIM!" Zoro cried but then suddenly he flew at the assassin and began attacking him.

"_Zoro what are you doing?!_" Tsubaki cried.

"That weirdo's got a voodoo doll! He got some of my hair and now he's controlling my body!" Zoro said. **SLASH!** He swiped at Black Star who ducked his sword. He then placed Wado Ichimonji in his mouth before he crossed his arms. "Black Star run!" he said before he shot at him, executing his Oni Giri technique, cutting Black Star in the process.

"_Black Star!_" Tsubaki yelped.

"I'm fine. We need to take out that witch doctor, cause I won't fight Zoro…wait I've got it. Shuriken mode."

"Right!" Tsubaki said as she changed into her giant razor throwing star. Black Star reeled his hand back before throwing her at Zoro who ducked to avoid her as she flew off past him and Turu. The voodoo man laughed as he made Zoro slash at Black Star again, this time cutting his stomach as the assassin didn't quite jump away in time. But as he coughed up blood form the attack, he grinned.

"Heads up, asshole." Turu looked confused but as he turned around all he could do was gulp. **CLANK!** Tsubaki smashed off his head as she'd looped round and come back at Turu form behind where he couldn't see her coming. The man fell out cold and dropped his doll in the process, thus allowing Zoro to regain control of his body.

"Son of a bitch. Thanks Black Star. And sorry about attacking you." He said as he picked up the doll and pulled his hair out of it. Winners: Black Star and Zoro (kind of).

Maka, Luffy and Nami were now fighting Bluebeard who was proving to be quite a challenge. The man was solid as steel and yet fast as the wind. Clearly some side effects from eating so many innocent souls. But while Maka was blocking one of his attacks, she didn't see Lilith advancing behind her, her diamond claws prepared to shred the scythe meister to shreds, but then…

"MAKA LOOK OUT!" before Lilith could strike, Crona leapt in front of Maka, blocking Lilith's attack with Ragnarok.

"Impossible! No sword can take a hit form my diamond claws.

"_Yeah well you forgot one thing about fighting a sword made of blood._" Ragnarok spoke. "_I'M PACKIN' IRON BEOOOOTCH~!_" he yelled as Crona slashed at her, causing her to jump back.

"Crona you saved me. Thank you." Maka smiled, making Crona blush.

"Like I said. I promised to protect you, Maka." he replied.

"I know you will." Maka smiled before going back to help Luffy and Nami. The captain and navigator noticing the two meisters sensed something between them. Something Luffy and Nami shared, and looking at each other, they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

"I think after this is all over we should play a little game with those two." Luffy said to Nami while Maka blocked another of Bluebeard's attacks.

"I agree, Luffy. By any chance is the game you're thinking of…matchmaker?" the captain only grinned in reply before going at Bluebeard again.

"Gum Gum…GATLING!" **BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!-BAP!** His rubber fists pounded against Bluebeard's iron body, but he man barely took notice as he threw his large fists at the Luffy and Maka. But meanwhile, Shino and Spike were battling Lilith who was swiping at them with her diamond claws, only for Shino to block them with Spike's blade. But it was then that she suddenly noticed about twenty small black orbs the size of a grape floating around her. Seconds later Ragnarok's eyes appeared on each one.

"_Bloody needle~!_" they squealed. **PIERCE!** With that each orb shot a long deadly needle towards Lilith. Some of them cutting her arms and legs but the main reason was to trap her, as the needles plunged in the deck forming a needle cage, immobilising her. It is revealed that Crona and Ragnarok had manipulated the blood from the wound they received form Naomi and used it to trap Lilith giving Shino and Spike an opening.

"Great job, Crona!" Shino grinned.

"_You rock, little brother!_" Spike laughed as well.

"Anything for my big sister." Crona smiled.

"_Hey don't I get thanks too?!_" Ragnarok barked.

"Thanks, Ragnarok." Shino said.

"_Thank you very much!_" Ragnarok corrected.

"_Take it or leave it._" Spike snorted.

"Ready, Spike?" Shino said.

"_You know it._"

"**LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!**" they both yelled as their souls began to connect and their power rose. Shino lifted Spike before her blade changed into a glowing, wolf-like shape. "HOWLING SLICER!" Shino roared. **SLASH!**" with a single swing Shino slashed Spike across Lilith, just as Ragnarok released her. The woman screamed as the blade split her chest open in a really bad wound ad she was sent falling back against the deck, bleeding heavily. Bluebeard, seeing this, stopped dead in his tracks, as his pupils shrunk to pin pricks and his mouth opened in pure shock and terror.

"RRRAAAAAAAAA!" he roared, like a rabid dog. **THWAP!** He swatted Luffy, Nami and Maka aside like flies before flying towards Shino and Spike who were about to deliver the final blow. The scythe meister reeled his partner back before throwing her towards Lilith. As she flew towards her, Spike began to morph back into her human form but kept her blade sticking out of the back of her neck, which she aimed at Lilith.

"Wolf DAGGER!" she howled about to skewer Lilith to finish her. **POW!** A huge fist suddenly connected with her face as Bluebeard socked her in the jaw before she could kill Lilith.

"SPIKE!" Shino and Crona cried as they saw her hit the wall of the Sunny. But Bluebeard didn't stop as he charged towards the werewolf with his fist ready to smash her to pieces. On instinct, Shino dashed towards spike and gathered the unconscious young woman into his arms but as he ran Bluebeard sped after him and delivered a low flying kick to the boy's leg, causing him to trip and land his left foot hard. **KRRAAK!**

"GAH! MY ANKLE!" Shino cried in pain as he saw his left foot twisted at an unnatural angle. By this point Bluebeard was onto them his fists raised. When suddenly.

"FIREBIRD STAR!" **FWOOSH!** A huge fiery phoenix engulfed the captain who roared in anger before turning to see Usopp and Blizzard standing at the entrance to the aquarium bar, Mark and Will peeking from behind them.

"Alright Captain Usopp~! You're the greatest~! WHOO-HOO~!" they cheered.

"Thanks, kids. Here have another!" Usopp said as he launched another phoenix at Bluebeard, but this time Blizzard charged after it and jumped through, coating himself in Usopp's fire.

"_FLAMING CLAW!_" the wolf-dog howled as he slashed at Bluebeard with his flaming claws sending the man stumbling backwards into the centre of the deck.

"Hey ugly!" he then turned to see Luffy grinning at him with his arms stretched past either side of the captain and grabbing the other end of the sunny, while Soul and Black Star were holding Luffy by his sides and also grinning wickedly.

"Gum." Soul said

"Gum." Black Star added.

"SLINGSHOT!" both boys said as they let Luffy go. **TWANG!** With a powerful, rubbery thrust, Luffy catapulted Bluebeard back onto his ship.

"CAPTAIN!" the rest of the Bluebeards cried.

"Get Miss Lilith and retreat!" Judith said.

"This isn't the end!" Reggie snarled as he picked up the wounded Lilith and ran back to the ship, followed by the rest of the Bluebeards.

"Franky now's our chance! Coup de burst on the double!" Luffy ordered.

"Way ahead of ya, Straw-hat!" Franky said.

"But Luffy, the mission." Maka argued.

"We'll have more chances, Maka. But right now we need to get out of here! Shino's injured and Bluebeard's gone nuts. If we don't get out of here he'll sink the ship." Maka looked up to see Bluebeard trying to climb back onto the Sunny, but his crew we're holding him back.

"LET ME GO YOU DAMN FOOLS!" he roared. "I'LL EAT YOU ALL~!"

"No Captain, you're injured. We need to have Turu treat you, Miss Lilith and the others." Judith said as he held him back.

"You'll have other chances, Captain!" Reggie said as he struggled to hold him.

"Coup de BURST!" Franky shouted. **BLLOOOOWW!** The Sunny took to the air, taking her riders with her, far away to safety, and the Bluebeards could only watch as they disappeared.

"NOOOOO!" Bluebeard roared in anger. "I SWEAR! I will find you Shino and Spike! Enjoy your freedom while you can, cause this is the last peaceful day you will KNOW from this moment ON! I SWEAR IT! YOU'RE SOULS ARE MINE!"

To be continued…

* * *

Review, please!


	5. Arriving on Dragon Fang Peak

**Ch. 5- Arriving on Dragon Fang Peak- Black*Star's Ultimate Sacrifice?**

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One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

Blizzard, Bluebeard Pirates, Shino Kurohana, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Marcus "Mark" Clayborne, and William "Will" Clayborne © Me

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It is now almost nightfall. It has been a good few hours since the Straw Hats and the DWMA Gang escaped Bluebeard's wrath, and they are now continuing their course to Dragon Fang Peak. Of course, not everything is right as rain on the pirate ship.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"Oh, Shino, stop screaming and take it like a man, you big baby! At least I popped it back in quickly!"

"IT STILL HURT, DAMMIT!"

In the sick bay, Chopper is wrapping bandages around Shino's ankle after Spike popped back into place.

"Seriously, Shino," Spike said. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't trying to be all 'Knight-in-Shining-Armor' and trying to save me! I'm your weapon partner! I'm supposed to be protecting YOU! Not the other way around!"

"Spike, you were unconscious," Chopper pointed out.

"No one asked you!" Spike spat, causing Chopper to flinch a bit.

"Still, that was some punch," Shino said. "I can't believe he managed to knock you out like that, Spike. Then again, he's been eating human souls. That really shouldn't surprise me."

"He took us all by surprise," said Spike. "We were lucky to escape alive."

"Yeah," Chopper agreed. "He looked madder than Luffy does when somebody eats the last piece of meat before he gets to it!" He then turned to Shino.

"Now, Shino," he said to the make Scythe Meister. "You're going to need to stay off your ankle for at least a few days. However, if you feel like you need to walk around a bit, use those crutches." He pointed his hoof to a pair of crutches standing against the bed.

"Yes, Doctor Chopper," Shino said.

"Also, I'm prescribing you with painkillers," Chopper as he held up a bottle of white pills. "Take two every 4 hours."

"Yes, Doctor," Shino said. "Thank you for your help."

"Shut up!" Chopper shouted, blushing and waving his arms happily.. "Why would saying that make me happy, you bastard?!"

_He sure does look happy,_ Spike thought, sweat-dropping.

Meanwhile, outside on deck, everyone else is having a party just for the heck of it. Mark and Will are doing a rather peculiar (if not, vulgar) dance that Usopp had taught them. They had chopsticks in their noses and in their lower lips and they are holding baskets in their hands.

"Like this, Usopp?" Mark asked.

"Are we doing it?" Will asked.

Usopp laughed while clapping his hands.

"Yeah! Just like that!" he said.

"That's a silly dance!" Patty exclaimed while laughing.

"If Spike sees this, she's gonna tear Luffy apart," Liz said, sweat-dropping.

Blizzard, who sat in between in the sisters, didn't really seem to pay it any mind, but it is probably due to the fact that he is currently asleep.

Luffy is busy stuffing his face with all of the delicious food Sanji and Tsubaki had made for the party, and his stomach is now as big as a balloon. Black*Star was eating, too, but he had to stop after his 13th plate, but Luffy just kept eating.

"Black*Star, are you okay?" Tsubaki asked, tending to Black*Star, who is now lying in her lap with a bloated stomach.

"I can't believe that rubber punk out-ate me," Black*Star said, wincing.

"Well, he is made of rubber, Black*Star," said Tsubaki. "What did you think was gonna happen?"

Luffy chuckled as he kept eating.

Soul is (reluctantly) playing the piano to Binks' Sake with Brook playing along on the violin, and Shino, who had decided to come outside to join everyone, heard the music and smiled.

"That's a nice song," said Shino.

"It's called 'Binks' Sake'," Brook explained. "It's a song that pirates sing in both good and bad times."

"Mind if I sing along?" Shino asked.

"Of course not," Brook said. "Go ahead! Sing to your heart's content!"

Shino smiled and cleared his throat before he and Brook broke out into song.

"**Yohohoho, yohohoho~!**

**Yohohoho, yohohoho~!**

**Yohohoho, yohohoho~!**

**Yohohoho, yohohoho~!**

**We'll deliver Binks' Sake~**

**Ocean's breeze shall guide the way~**

**Sailing forth atop the waves~**

**Across the briny deep~**

**The evening sun is dancing high~**

**Painting circles in the sky~**

**As it sinks, the song of birds~**

**Ring out across the sea~!"**

"My, what a lively song," Kid commented as he took a sip of his drink.

"Yeah!" Blair agreed as she sat next to Sanji. "Plus, Shino and the skeleton guy aren't bad singers!"

"You know, I can sing, too, Blair," Sanji said.

"Yeah, right, you idiot cook," said Zoro as he drank some sake.

"What was that, moss-head?!" Sanji questioned.

"You heard me!" Zoro spat.

Robin just chuckled as the chef and swordsman started going at it, again.

"What do you think, Crona?" Maka asked as she sat next to Crona. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Well…a little," Crona said, shyly. "I don't really know how to handle gatherings like this."

Maka smiled and held Crona's hand, making the demon swordsman look at her with a bit of a blush on his face.

"You really need to learn how to relax, Crona," said Maka. "You've got nothing to worry about. It's just a party. Everyone is your friend here, remember?"

At that moment, Ragnarok came out of Crona's back, once again.

"For once, Maka's right," said Ragnarok. "Loosen up, Crona! Have some fun!"

"…I guess," Crona said.

"I'll be right back," Maka said. "I gotta go check on something."

With that, Maka stood up and she walked away, leaving Crona alone for a brief moment. Once she was gone, Luffy, who is now back to his regular frame, sat next to Crona.

"Some party, huh?" Luffy asked.

"Yes," Crona answered, quietly.

A slight pause.

"Hey, Crona," Luffy said, causing the demon swordsman to glance at him. "I couldn't help but notice that you and Maka look pretty close."

"Well…yes," Crona replied. "She's the person who made me who I am, today. She saved my life, and I owe her that much. I guess…you could say that I-"

"Love her?" Luffy asked, causing Crona to blush red in embarrassment.

"N-no!" Crona said. "I-it's not what you think! I swear! I only like Maka as a friend!"

"Yeah, right," Luffy said. "I see the way you look at her, Crona, and we also saw how you jumped in to block that attack from the diamond lady. I can read you like a book."

"Hehehe!" Ragnarok laughed. "He's that easy to read, isn't he?"

"Ragnarok…!" Crona whispered.

"Look, Crona," Luffy said. "I used to be like you. I used to be shy around Nami and I didn't know how to tell her my feelings. I tried to convince myself that we were just friends and nothing more, but…I was wrong. It turned out Nami returned my feelings…so what's holding you back?"

"…I just don't think I can deal with the thought of Maka rejecting me," Crona said. "I mean…look at her and Soul. I think she's better off with him."

"I think Maka only likes Soul as a big brother or something," said Luffy. "Look, Crona. It's better if you told Maka how you feel than not tell her, at all, because if you don't…you're gonna lose her."

Crona looked down in his lap, as if deep in thought.

Meanwhile, at the helm, Nami is standing behind Franky, who is steering the ship.

"Just keep going straight Franky," Nami said as she held the Eternal Pose in her hand. "We're almost there."

"You got it, sis," Franky said.

At that moment, Maka had come out of the library and had joined Nami's side.

"Hey, Maka," Nami greeted.

"Hey," Maka greeted. "So how much longer until we reach Dragon Fang Peak?"

"Not too much longer," Nami said as she glanced at the Eternal Pose. "The needle is pointing straight ahead. As long as we keep going on this heading, we should be there in two shakes of a wolf-dog's tail."

"All right," Maka said. "You're the navigator."

Nami then glanced at Maka and smiled.

"By the way, Maka," Nami said. "I couldn't help but notice how Crona saved you from Lilith, earlier."

"Huh?" Maka asked. "Oh, well of course. We're friends."

"Right~," Nami said, although a bit sarcastically.

"Why did you say it like that?" Maka asked.

"Oh, no reason," Nami said.

Maka narrowed her eyes at Nami in a bit of a puzzled expression, but decided to shrug it off, for now.

Just then, Nami looked ahead and gasped.

"Guys!" she called out. "We're here!"

At that moment, everyone came up to the helm and saw that Nami is right: just up ahead is any surrounded by jagged rocks jutting out of the water. On said is a grassy shore with a thick, dense, almost dead forest. However, the thing that stood out most had to be the huge mountain that is in the shape of a black roaring dragon.

Liz, Usopp, and Crona all gulped at the sight.

"Okay," Liz said. "I am now 100% freaked out!"

"Join the club," Usopp said.

"I don't think I can handle seeing a mountain in the shape of a dragon," Crona chimed in.

"So this is Dragon Fang Peak," Maka said. "I can see where it gets its name from."

"Kind of ugly, if you ask me," Soul said.

"So, now that we're here, what should we be looking for?" Zoro asked.

"Clues," Tsubaki answered. "Any kind of clues, like maybe other people that Bluebeard has taken here or maybe a clue to his past."

"Clues, shmues!" Luffy said. "I just wanna hurry up and start exploring!"

"Luffy!" Nami said. "You can't just run around, willy-nilly on an island like this! It's a pirate's hideout!"

"All the more reason to explore, to me!" Luffy said.

Nami sighed in exasperation.

"Patience, Nami," she muttered to herself.

"So, how are we going to go about doing this?" Kid asked.

"We should probably split up into groups," Robin said. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Then let's do this," Shino as he attempted to go ashore, but Spike soon held him back by grabbing the back of his coat.

"Oh, no, you don't, buster," Spike said. "Remember what Chopper said? You gotta stay off that ankle. You're staying on this ship whether you like it or not."

"Fine," Shino said. "Can't go against doctor's orders."

"Good," Spike said.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on Shino for you, Spike," said Chopper.

"Thanks," Spike said. "Now, we need someone else and watch my brothers. Shino can't do it, because then he'd be up and around when he should be resting."

"How about I stay?" Robin asked.

"You sure you wanna stay here, Robin?" asked Zoro.

"Yes," Robin replied.

"Call us if there's trouble," Nami said. "Make sure you have the Transponder Snail nearby."

"Understood," Robin said.

"Now that that's settled," Nami said, "who's going with who?"

"Well, I think Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki, and I should be the first group," Maka said.

"Ooh, ooh!" Luffy said, holding up his hand. "Nami, can I go with Maka, too? Pretty please?"

"Sure, Luffy," Nami said. "Group 2 will be me, Blair, Blizzard, and Sanji!"

"Yay!" Blair cheered as she hugged Sanji from behind. "That means we get to spend more time together, Sanji-boy!"

"Fate has smiled upon me…!" Sanji said, happily.

_Oh, brother,_ Blizzard thought.

"Usopp and Franky will go with Kid, Liz, and Patty," Nami said.

"Great," Franky muttered. "Look, pal! Don't go painting on my shoulders, you hear me?!"

"Relax," Kid said. "I won't do it, again. Reaper's honor."

"I'd watch my back, just in case," Liz said.

Patty only giggled.

"And Crona is going with Zoro and Brook," said Nami.

"Hey!" Ragnarok cried as he came out of Crona's back. "You forgot me, stupid!"

"Yes, Ragnarok, you too!" Nami said, angrily. "Sorry."

"That's better," Ragnarok said.

"Crona," Maka said. "You'll be okay without me, won't you?"

"Well…I should be, for a while," Crona said.

"Zoro, try not to get lost this time, please," Nami said, much to Zoro's irritation.

"Zoro gets lost?" Soul asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy answered with a laugh. "He can lost real easily! One time, he was following Nami, and then he just wandered off! He was lost for hours!"

"Don't rub it in!" Zoro barked.

"And I thought Marie had a bad sense of direction," Black*Star said. "His is probably worse!"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" Zoro questioned.

"All right, all right!" Nami called. "That's enough! Now then, if we're all agreements, let's get going, and let's meet up back here on the ship if we find anything."

"Right!" everyone said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Luffy asked. "LET'S GO!"

With that, everyone split up into their respective groups and began to explore the island while Shino, Chopper, Robin, Mark, and Will stayed behind on the _Sunny_.

Little did they know that someone has already anticipated their arrival.

XXX

The whole entire forest is silent, save for the sound of crickets chirped and the occasional hooting of an owl. Suddenly, a growling noise is heard, so loud that it frightened any resident fauna within radius of that growl. A closer look revealed that the growling is not coming from any beast, but it is actually emanating from Luffy's stomach.

"Luffy, can't you keep it down?" Maka asked.

"I can't help it, Maka!" Luffy complained, rubbing his stomach. "My tummy's so empty! I haven't eaten in hours!"

"You mean you haven't eaten in 10 minutes," Soul remarked. "In fact, if I recall, you and Black*Star ate a whole barrel of cured meat!"

"I did?" Luffy asked. "I don't remember."

Soul heaved a sigh as he kept walking, but soon, his stomach started growling, too.

"Soul," Maka said.

"What?!" Soul questioned. "His stomach growled, so mine started growling, too!"

"Come to think of it, I'm getting a little hungry, too," Black*Star chimed in, his belly also rumbling, although he had already eaten ten minutes ago as well.

"Oh, Black*Star," Tsubaki said, sweat-dropping.

Maka sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Typical boys," the Scythe Meister said. "All you can ever think of is food."

Luffy's stomach started growling again, and he moaned.

"Stop bellyaching!" Soul barked at the captain. "We can eat as soon as we get back to the ship, okay?"

"I should've asked Sanji to make me a lunchbox," Luffy said.

"If you knew you were gonna be hungry, then why didn't you ask him?" Maka asked.

"I was so excited about exploring the island, I completely forgot," Luffy said. "Oh, I'm starving~!"

Once again, Maka sighed in irritation. However, her irritation suddenly disappeared and she immediately became alert. She stopped walking, but in doing so, she had accidentally caused Soul and Luffy to bump into her.

"Maka, what the hell?!" Soul questioned.

"Why'd you stop?!" Luffy asked.

Maka didn't answer. Instead, she started glancing this way and that.

"Maka?" Tsubaki asked, worried.

Maka still didn't respond. Instead, she just looked up, and then she gasped when she saw two glowing red eyes and a sick, toothy grin in the trees.

"GET BACK!" Maka shouted.

At first, Luffy, Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki didn't seem to understand, but then, they saw a shadowy figure leap down at them from the branches, and they immediately jumped away. The figure landed on the ground, causing it to shake, and as the dust cleared, it is revealed to be Brokko, a vicious smirk on his face.

"Well, well," said Brokko. "Looks like I've got some uninvited guests!"

"Who are you?!" Luffy asked.

"They call me 'Spiked Knuckle' Brokko!" Brokko answered. "The boss left me here on Dragon Fang Peak to guard the hideout for him until he got back. He also told me to be on the lookout for a bunch of brats! Looks like you're all here. As soon as I'm done with you, I'll hunt down all your little buddies and eat their souls!"

"You won't be eating any souls, pal!" Black*Star spat. "Not now, and not ever again!"

"Oh?" Brokko asked. "And just who is gonna stop me?"

"We are," Maka said before she grabbed Soul's hand. Soul smirked before he started to glow white, and soon, he morphed into his scythe form.

"Tsubaki! Enchanted Sword mode, now!" Black*Star said.

"Right!" Tsubaki said before she transformed into her Enchanted Sword form.

Luffy just stretched his limbs and cracked his knuckles.

"Let's make this quick," Luffy said. "I wanna hurry up and get this over with so I can eat."

"We know, Luffy," Soul said.

"Say goodnight, kiddies," said Brokko before he charged at the group.

"Quick! Dodge him!" Maka cried before she and Black*Star jumped out of his way. However, Luffy stayed put and actually managed to grab Brokko and hold him back.

"What the?!" Maka asked.

"_He's actually holding him back?!"_ Soul asked. _"How strong is he?!"_

Luffy stretched his arm back behind himself and then twists it around.

"Gum GUUUUUUUM…RIFLE!"

**POW!** Luffy sent a spinning punch right at Brokko's chest, sending him flying back several feet.

"Maka! Soul! Black*Star! Tsubaki!" Luffy called. "Quick! Get him while he's down!"

"Thanks, Luffy!" Maka called. "Let's do this, Black*Star!"

"YAHOO!" Black*Star shouted before the two Meisters charged at Brokko. However, Brokko stood up almost instantaneously, and before they could react fast enough, the muscle-bound brute brought both of spiked knuckles down on the ground, causing the ground to shake, which made Maka and Black*Star lose their balance. Maka fell to her knees, despite trying to Soul to keep herself steady.

"You're first, little girl," said Brokko before he lunged at Maka, preparing to punch her lights out.

"_Maka! Look out!"_ Soul shouted.

"Run, Maka!" Luffy cried.

Just when Brokko is about to land a hit on the Scythe Meister, Black*Star suddenly appeared before him and blocked his fist with Tsubaki's blade.

"Nice try, buddy," Black*Star said, "but I think you should be more focused on a big man like me!"

"Big man, eh?" Brokko asked. "Prove it, then!"

"With pleasure!" Black*Star said before he slashed Tsubaki at his chest, causing the strongman to yell in pain and stagger back, clutching his wound.

"That's no normal sword, is it?" Brokko asked.

"No, Tsubaki is not a normal sword," said Black*Star. "She's not even a sword. She's a Dark Arm!"

"A Dark Arm?" Brokko questioned. "Never heard of it. Now, why don't you be good little kids and let me kill you and eat your souls!"

"Not gonna happen!" Luffy shouted before he charged at Brokko again and stretched his neck back. "Gum GUUUUUUM…BELL!"

**BONG!** Luffy's rubber skull struck Brokko's forehead, but as Brokko recovered, he reeled back his fist and punched Luffy right across his face, and since he is wearing spiked knuckles, he easily left a damaging blow to Luffy's jaw.

"Luffy!" Maka and Soul cried as the rubber man fell to the ground, clutching his face.

"Ah, dammit, that hurt…!" Luffy said.

"_Luffy, look out behind you!"_ Tsubaki called.

Luffy turned around and saw Brokko about to deliver another punch, but then…

"Black Star…BIG WAVE!"

**BAM!** Black*Star suddenly rushed up behind Brokko and hit him with Soul Waves, right in the spine. Brokko screamed in both pain and shock before Black*Star sent him flying right through a boulder, which shattered into pebbles when Brokko crashed through it.

"That takes care of that," Black*Star with a smirk. "Chalk up another one for Black*Star!"

"Yeah! Way to go, Black*Star!" Luffy cheered.

"Wait," Maka said. "That was way too easy."

"_She's right,"_ Tsubaki said. _"There's definitely something wrong here."_

"What do you mean?" Black*Star asked.

Suddenly, Brokko stood up and appeared before Black*Star, quick as a flash. Before the assassin could react fast enough, **BAM! KRRAAAAKK!** Brokko slammed the side of his fist right into Black*Star chest, where a sickening crack is heard. Black*Star ended up crashing right into another tree.

"BLACK*STAR!" Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Luffy cried.

Black*Star sat up, clutching his injured chest.

_Dammit!_ he thought. _He cracked three of my ribs!_

Brokko cackled as he approached Black*Star again, preparing to finish the job, but then, **SHUNK!** Maka stabbed Soul's blade into his right side, getting his attention.

"Over here, big boy!" Maka called as she pulled Soul out Brokko's side.

"You're gonna regret that, little girl!" Brokko barked as he brought his fist down on Maka, only for her to block it with Soul's handle. However, Brokko proved to be too strong for her, for Soul was sent flying from her hands and onto the forest floor.

"Soul!" Maka cried, but before she could run to get her weapon, Brokko suddenly grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a crushing bear hug, causing her to scream in pain as she slowly felt her bones beginning to crack from the pressure.

"_Maka, no!"_ Soul cried.

"Let her go!" Luffy shouted before he turned his arms black with his Haki. "Gum Gum GATLING!"

**BAP-BAP-BAP-BAP-BAP!** Luffy fired a series of fast punches at Brokko, who turned to face the Straw Hat Captain with a toothy grin.

"That's not gonna work on me, boy!" Brokko shouted before he turned and grabbed Luffy and proceeded to drive him, face-first into the ground. Knowing full well that Luffy is made of rubber, he lifted his spiked knuckles, preparing to smash Luffy's skull open like an egg, but then, Black*Star leapt at the muscular man from behind and kicked him right in the back of his head forcing him to let go of Maka and Luffy.

"Don't even try it, ugly!" Black*Star shouted before he did a somersault and landed on a nearby tree branch.

Brokko growled before he charged at the tree Black*Star is perched on and rammed his head right into its trunk, but the assassin jumped off and ran away at the last second. However, Brokko soon gave chase after him.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?!" Brokko shouted. "I'm not finished with you, yet! Get back here!"

By this time, Luffy and Soul, who returned to his human form, ran to Maka's side and helped her to get to her feet.

"Are you okay, Maka?" Soul asked.

"Can you breathe?" Luffy asked.

"I think so," Maka said. "Where's Black*Star and Tsubaki?"

Luffy looked to the direction that Black*Star and Brokko had run off too.

"They went that way!" he said. "That big muscle guy is chasing him!"

"In that case, we better hurry and go after him," Soul said.

"Maka, you can run, can't you?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah," Maka replied.

"Then try to keep up," Luffy said before he ran off with Soul and Maka following behind.

Meanwhile, Black*Star is running up a hill with Brokko still in hot pursuit.

"_Black*Star, what are you doing?!"_ Tsubaki asked. _"Why are we running away?!"_

"You're gonna think this is crazy," Black*Star said, "but I have a plan!"

Suddenly, Brokko jumped up into the air, and on his descent, he pointed his fists straight down. **THOOM!** He punched the ground so hard, he sent Black*Star and Tsubaki flying a few feet away, but Black*Star managed to catch himself and continued to read. However, he found it a bit hard to breathe, due to his cracked ribs. At that moment, he finally broke through the forest and came to stop at a cliff.

"_Uh-oh,"_ Tsubaki said. _"Black*Star, this isn't looking good!"_

"You couldn't be more right."

Black*Star turned and saw Brokko approaching him with a wicked grin.

"Looks like I've finally got you right where I want you, boy!" Brokko exclaimed.

Black*Star glared at Brokko, gripping Tsubaki's hilt as he did.

"No," he said. "I've got YOU where I want you."

All of a sudden, Luffy, Maka, and Soul appeared.

"Black*Star!" Luffy called.

"Hang on! We're coming!" Soul shouted.

"Don't bother!" Black*Star called back, much to their surprise.

"What is he doing?" Maka asked.

Just then, **SHUNK!** Black*Star raised Tsubaki and stabbed her blade right into the ground, which began to shake and crumble. Then, without warning, he tossed Tsubaki towards Luffy, Maka, and Soul. Tsubaki morphed back into her human form and fell to the ground.

"Black*Star!" she called, worriedly. "What are you doing?!"

"Black*Star, get outta there!" Soul shouted. "Dammit, you're gonna fall with that guy!"

"That's the idea," Black*Star said, causing the others to gasp.

"What are you saying, Black*Star?!" Maka asked in shock.

"Just because I'm going down doesn't mean I have to drag Tsubaki with me," said Black*Star.

Luffy's eyes went wide.

"No…!" he whispered.

"Black*Star, no!" Tsubaki cried with tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Don't do this!"

"You stupid brat!" Brokko shouted. "What have you done?!"

Black*Star smirked before he pointed his finger into the air.

"If you see the others again," he shouted, "tell them I went out like a big star should! YAHOOOOO!"

**KROOSH!** Soon, the whole cliff gave out beneath Black*Star and Brokko's feet, and the two began to fall through the mist below. Luffy, Soul, Maka, and Tsubaki ran to try and rescue Black*Star. The Dark Arm even attempted to jump down the cliff and go after her Meister, but before she could, Luffy, Maka, and Soul grabbed her and held her back.

"TSUBAKI, STOP!" Luffy shouted.

"YOU CAN'T GO DOWN THERE!" Maka cried.

"NO REASON YOU HAVE TO DIE, TOO!" Soul barked.

"BLACK*STAR!" a tearful Tsubaki screamed as she watched her Meister fall while pointing up at her with a smile on his face. "BLACK*STAR, NOOOOOOOOOOO~!"

Black*Star and Brokko disappeared through the fog, and Luffy, Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki stared in horror. The wind blew for a brief moment, but as quickly as it came, it died down.

"Quick!" Maka said. "Let's hurry and get down there! Maybe he survived!"

XXX

Later, the four made it down to the bottom of the ravine where Black*Star and Brokko fell and are now searching for him.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki called. "Can you hear me?! It's me, Tsubaki!"

"Black*Star, where are you~?!" Soul shouted. "Answer us~!"

"Black*Star~!" Luffy yelled. "Come on out!"

Maka, meanwhile, said nothing.

_We haven't found hide or hair of him,_ she thought. _I can't even sense his Soul Wavelength, anymore._

Just then, Luffy spotted something from a distance. He ran up to a patch of jagged rocks and saw nothing but a glowing red orb with a dark purple center and a darker red shell around.

"Huh?" Luffy muttered as he reached up to touch it, but then, Maka grabbed him and pulled him away.

"Luffy, don't touch that!" she said. "That's a Kishin egg!"

"A Kishin egg?" Luffy asked.

"That's right," Soul said, "and it's possible that it belong to that big knuckleheaded gorilla."

"…but…where's Black*Star?" Maka asked.

"He…he must've…you know," Luffy said with a sad expression.

There is silence, but it is soon broken by the sound of Tsubaki, sniffling.

"I…I can't believe he's gone…!" Tsubaki said as her tears began to spill from her eyes. "It's not fair! W…what am I going to do without him?! B…Black*Star…BLACK*STAAAAAAAAAAR!"

As Tsubaki sobbed, Maka chewed her lip and closed her eyes, trying not to let her own tears escape, while Soul and Luffy looked away, silently, but one could easily tell that they, too, are in mourning.

It appeared that Black*Star, the last remaining member of the Star Clan…has made the ultimate sacrifice to protect his friends.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

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Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think.

Review, please!


	6. The Mourning of an Assasin

Soul EaterXOne Piece Collab Special! Ch. 6- The mourning of an assassin: Three swordsmen and a mute?

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This chapter was written by yellowpikmin88 on Deviantart. Please credit him, too.

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Maka, Soul, Tsubaki and Luffy stood in front of a small tree stump near the cliff edge. On the face of the bark, Black Star's insignia had been carved into it, and resting at the base of the trunk was a Camellia flower (left by Tsubaki). Tsubaki knelt down in front of her meister's makeshift grave and placed her hand on it as she choked back a sob, having spent the last ten minutes crying herself dry, though the stains of her tears remained on her cheeks. Maka hadn't been able to hold back her sobs either as she'd also spent a good few minutes crying over the loss of her first friend, being that she and Black Star grew up together before they met their partners. Even Soul, who hated crying for fear it would only make his friends feel worse, inevitably shed tears for his friend, remembering the times he and Black Star had hung out, got into fights and challenged each other at basketball, and even though Luffy hadn't known Black Star for long, his chest still ached horribly for the assassin. Maka knelt beside Tsubaki and put a hand on her shoulder. The dark arm looked at her, her beautiful, deep blue eyes now sucked of all their light and now merely empty, glazed shells of what they were. She then slowly stood up and began to walk away from Black Star's grave, her head bowed.

"Tsubaki, where are you going?" Soul asked, but got no reply.

"Probably back to the ship." Maka guessed sadly. "Come on, we have to tell the others." she added before following Tsubaki, Luffy and Soul close behind her, and the captain couldn't help but sense a dark aura had begun to envelop the raven haired young woman, something that Maka sensed as well. A feeling she knew all too well. The memory of Crona impaled on Medusa's arrow, and her holding his dying form after he saved her life, flashed in her mind's eye. That was the last time she felt that darkness, that gut-burning anger and heartbreak. They'd have to keep an eye on Tsubaki for now, because as things were going, she was slowly slipping into the madness of revenge, and the once sweet scented camellia blossom would soon be a flower without fragrance yet again.

XXX

Meanwhile, far on another part of the island, Zoro, Crona and Brook were nearing the large dragon-shaped peak. As they reached its base, they saw there was no way up the incredibly tall peak.

"And tell me why we're here again?" Zoro asked.

"To find out what's going on, moss head." Ragnarok said, emerging from Crona. "Unlike you, we can sense souls, and there's definitely something inside that peak."

"Ok, but how are we gonna get up there?" Ragnarok responded by growling bigger. His neck stretched out and his muzzle became pointed. The small spikes on his back grew bigger and finally his arms spread into a pair of enormous bat-like wings.

"OH MY WORD!" Brook gasped.

"You can turn into a freaking dragon?!" Zoro said in shock.

"Yeah, getting to high places is something I can deal with." Crona said before quickly gliding up to the top of the peak.

"WHAT ABOUT US~?!" Zoro called.

"NOT MY PROBLEM~!" Ragnarok said back. The swordsman glared before turning to Brook who shrugged.

"Alley oop!" the skeleton said before bending his knees and taking a flying leap, jumping off any rock sticking out of the cliffside to reach the top. **Tmp!-Tmp!-Tmp!** Zoro growled at his friends being so luckily gifted before he began to begrudgingly climb the rock by hand, until he reached the top after about ten minutes.

"What took you so long?" Ragnarok snickered.

"Shut up!"

"Chaps, over here." Brook called as Crona and Zoro walked over to him, to see the skeleton standing before the stone dragon's open mouth, and they could just see a door at the back of its throat. "I believe we've found our way in." The three of them looked at the door before walking over to it and trying the handle: locked obviously. **Slash! Slash! Slash!** The three swordsmen cut the door to pieces before continuing into the belly of the mountain. The path sloped downward in a spiral movement, and the darkness was dimly lit by a few torches on the walls. After walking for a few minutes the ground flattened out and the group saw many more paths. Crona closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them.

"What do you see?" Brook asked.

"That way." Crona said as he began to walk forward with Brook following, but the two stopped to turn their heads left to see Zoro walking down the path to the left.

"_HE SAID THIS WAY, DUMBASS!_" Ragnarok barked. Zoro stopped and gritted his teeth at his mistake before turning back and following the other two swordsmen. "_Seriously, how can you get lost that quickly?_"

"It's a curse." Zoro snorted, as they kept on walking, they stopped when they heard what sounded like a mixture of moans, cries and pleads for help. "What the hell is that?" Zoro murmured disturbed.

"The ones we've been looking for." Crona said as he placed his hand on the door the sounds were coming form before slowly pushing it open. As he did he heard screams come bursting out which made them jump.

"THEY'RE BACK!"

"THEY'VE COME FOR MORE OF US!"

"PLEASE I BEG YOU! SPARE ME!"

"Dear, god…" Brook whimpered. Inside the room, were many caged cells, all of them packed with innocent prisoners, men, women and children alike. All of them we're whimpering, crying or moaning and looked beyond terrified, but when they saw the two Straw-hats and the meister, their screaming began to die down a bit.

"You're not the Bluebeards." A middle aged man with a short beard said.

"Maybe they're new members." A woman with brown hair said, terrified.

"Please, whoever you are, don't eat me! I have a Mummy and Daddy I need to get back to!" A little girl wept. Crona, Zoro, Brook and Ragnarok all felt like vomiting, because what they were seeing made them absolutely sick to their stomachs.

"How much you wanna bet this is what the celestial dragons' place looks like?" Zoro said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Those unforgivable swine do feed on the same people after all." Brook said. Crona then walked over to the cage before kneeling down beside the little girl.

"It's okay. We're not with them. We're here to save you." He said gently as he held his hand out to her. "My name is Crona." the little girl looked at the swordsman's grey eyes before she began to reach out.

"Don't touch him, child!" the man said.

"He's trying to trick you!" the woman cried, but the little girl gently set her small hand in Crona's who gently wrapped his fingers around it.

"I'm Rachel." She said.

"Rachel. I've met a little girl named Rachel before." Crona smiled. "I've always liked that name." Rachel smiled back at him.

"It's okay. He's not one of them. I can tell." She said to the other prisoners in her cell. By this point Zoro and Brook had walked over to join Crona. The prisoners gasped when they saw them.

"Roronoa Zoro?" the man with beard said.

"And Soul King Brook?" the woman gasped as well.

"Are you here to help too?" Rachel asked.

"Yes we are, my dear." Brook said. "The three of us, along with our Captain, and the rest of Crona's companions are here to bring you all home to True Blood Island and kill Bluebeard and his men, to end his arc of tyranny against you."

"You really mean it?!" Rachel asked.

"Stand back." Crona said gently. Rachel nodded before stepping a few feet away from the bars. Crona then raised Ragnarok. **SLASH!** The bars to the cage fell away easily as he sliced through them. The prisoners gasped before letting out a cheer.

"WE'RE FREE~!" the man roared.

"WE'RE FINALLY GOING HOME~!" the woman wept happily.

"YOU'RE OUR HERO~!" Rachel tackled Crona with a hug knocking him over. He looked surprised for a moment, but returned the child's hug as she wept happily into his robe. "I'm gonna see my parents again!"

"Zoro, Brook go around the other cells and-" **BELLIP-BELLIP-BELLIP! BELLIP-BELLIP-BELLIP!** Crona was cut off by the sudden noise.

"What's that noise?" Ragnarok asked as he came out of Crona's back again causing the prisoners to scream. "Oh shut up will ya?! I'm on your side for god's sake!" Zoro reached into his pocket and pulled out a baby transponder snail. **KOCHIP!** He picked up the receiver.

"This is Zoro."

"**Zoro! Zoro you have to hurry!**" the snail spoke in Robin's voice, its eyes changing to her shape and colour.

"Whoa Robin slow down, what's going on?!" Zoro said.

"**They're here! They've caught up to us! They've got the boys and Shino and I think they're gonna-**" Robin's voice suddenly cut off and the snail was left with its mouth hanging open and it's eyes wide.

"Robin? Robin?! Robin are you there?!" Zoro called, until another person began to breathe into the snail. Zoro glared. "I don't know who you are and I don't know what you want, though it's very likely you're one of the Bluebeards. If you want our souls, I can tell you now you're far from having them, but what I do have are skills in swordsman ship that have lead others to name me a demon. Skills that I learned in just two years from the greatest swordsman in the world who I intend to surpass. I'm only going to say this once. Let them go, or the last thing you see will be the silver of my swords slitting your throat." Two clicks and whistle sounded from the snail before it fell asleep. **KLANK!** Zoro slammed the receiver. "They've got them."

"They've got Robin and Chopper?!" Brook yelped.

"Shino, Mark and Will too?!" Crona said.

"We gotta get back to the ship! I'll call Nami. Brook you call Usopp. One of them will then call Luffy." The skeleton nodded before taking out his transponder snail and contacting Usopp while Zoro called Nami. As the two pirates made their calls, Crona waited but just then he tensed as he sensed an evil soul inside the mountain, and fast approaching to their location.

"Guys someone's coming." He said. Brook and Zoro both hung up their snails before turning to Crona. As they saw the handle to the door turn the three took cover as it opened, while the prisoners in Rachel's cell picked up the bars and held them in place to make it look like they were never cut. The door fully opened to reveal none other than Naomi. Her eyes swivelled over the area before she walked in and slowly shut the door behind her. She slowly walked past the many cells as the occupants watched her in fear. **PIERCE!** The mute girl fell to the ground as a bloody needle stabbed her in the side. She snarled before getting to her feet and looked around for more needles but found none. **CRINK!** A slither of ice shot across the ground towards her, though she narrowly avoided it to prevent being frozen. Naomi tensed as she searched for her attackers, until she got a cunning idea. Taking out a set of keys, she unlocked one of the cells and grabbed one of the prisoners who whimpered as she pulled him out and held her sword to his throat.

"NO PLEASE! MERCY!" the man wailed, his eyes streaming.

"HOLD IT!" Naomi lowered her weapon and smiled as Zoro, Brook and Crona emerged from the darkness, glaring at her.

"Only the lowest use poor frightened people to get what they want. You make me sick." Zoro said. Naomi smirked before throwing the man roughly back into the cell and slamming the cage door shut again.

"So we meet again, for the last time." Brook then said as he drew his cane sword.

"Hopefully you've said what prayers you have left, since you're going to die here." Crona said, summoning two demon swords into his hands. The mouths on both swords stuck their tongues out as they licked their lips.

"I just know you're soul's gonna taste great." Ragnarok cackled.

"And don't think we'll go easy on you since you're outnumbered." Zoro said readying his three katana. Naomi drew her own sword slowly as the silence hung sickly in the air like a corpse at the gallows. In a flash, she vanished, taking the three swordsmen by surprise and due to the room being very dark and her incredible speed, they couldn't see her, until Crona grunted as a cut suddenly appeared on his arm. But no sooner had that happened, Zoro hissed as a deep cut appeared on his left calve.

"Damn! She's too fast, and I can barely see in this dark." He grunted.

"We need more light in here." Brook said.

"Wait, I've got an idea." Crona said. "Everyone aim for the cave wall and focus your strongest attack on it. If we break through we'll have all the moonlight we need."

"Excellent idea, Crona." Brook said before pointing his word at the mountain wall.

"If it means killing this bitch so I can get back to Robin, I'll try anything!" Zoro said also readying his blades.

"Ragnarok. Scream resonance, full throttle." Crona said.

"**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!**" the sword shrieked, causing Crona to grit his teeth from the power now surging through his blood stream. With that the three readied their attacks, enduring any cuts the speeding Naomi inflicted on them.

"Aubade Coup Droit!"

"Three-Sword Style: 108 Caliber Phoenix!"

"Screeeeeech…ALPHA!" while Brook and Zoro's attacks caused a huge amount of destruction to the mountain, Crona's seemed to do nothing at first as a thin blade of black and purple light cut a thin, but very long line across the stone wall…until… **BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!** An enormous black aura with a screaming face erupted from the mountain, shattering the entire side of it and leaving a hole big enough for a giant to step through. The entire cave flooded with bluish-white moonlight, causing the prisoners to groan at the sudden brightness, even if it was something as soft as moonlight, but who could blame them for being left in the dark for so long?

"Perfect. Now there's nowhere for her to hide!" Zoro grinned. But as the trio turned around they gasped. There were about twenty Naomi's in front of them. "Dammit now she's using mirages! I wish I was Blizzard right now so I could smell out the real one."

"They're after images." Crona stated. "She's moving fast enough to leave replicas of where she's been. I've seen it before with Black Star."

"So what do we do?" Brook said. But then the replicas began to speed towards them.

"I'll handle this." Zoro said. "Crossing the Six Paths!" **SLASH!** Zoro swung his swords in an s shape before the powerful slash cut through all the replicas, causing them to vanish. "The real one is-GAH!" The three swordsmen let out a small cry of pain as they were all struck across the chest at the same time, Zoro and Crona drawing blood, Brook of course not having any to draw (A.N.- Skull joke~!).

"DAMN! She still got us! What's with the girls speed?!" Brook cursed.

"Guys, duck." Crona said, before crossing his arms while Brook and Zoro did as he said. The demon swordsman focused hard, his eyes screwed shut before Naomi's blood red soul appeared in his peripheral vision. **SLASH!** Crona swung both his swords, sending out a ring of black energy. **SKISH!** Naomi's body finally came into view as a wound appeared in her side from the attack and she fell to the ground.

"Great job, you got her!" Zoro grinned, as Naomi grabbed the bars of one of the cells to pull herself up. **GRAB!** At that moment, the prisoners grabbed her arms and pulled her close to the bars.

"WE'VE GOT HER! YOU'RE OPEN!" one prisoner called.

"DO IT! NOW!" another yelled.

"Scream resonance!" Crona instructed.

"**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!**" Crona held his sword tightly before he began to speed towards the trapped Naomi who struggled against the prisoners holding her still.

"YOU'RE SOUL IS MINE!" Crona shouted as he reeled Ragnarok back, ready to strike. Naomi seeing this gave a gigantic tug, and her arms slid out of the prisoner's grasp, as she fell to her knees, just as Crona swung Ragnarok just over her head as she ducked. **BWEEEEOO-OO-OO-OONG~!** As the vibrating sword struck the bars of the cell, an ear splitting, combination of screaming and metallic ringing echoed throughout the summit of the mountain, shaking every figure to their bones.

"_Dammit, Crona you missed!_" Ragnarok barked.

"Sorry, I almost had her." Crona apologised.

"Damn that noise almost blew my ears off." Zoro groaned as he rubbed his temples.

"If I had ear drums, they'd have both been flattened into tambourines. Yohohohoho~!" Brook laughed. Crona turned his gaze back to Naomi who'd curled up into a tight ball on the ground, and was quivering, her face hidden.

"Are you afraid?" he asked. "Can you feel it? That icy pain in your gut and your heart practically smashing through your ribs? That's what every man, woman and child in these cells has been feeling every hour of every day for the past eight months. And now you'll feel the pain of the ones you took."

"Damn is he creepy." Zoro muttered.

"Almost as morbid as Robin. Yohoho." Brook said. Crona then raised his sword and smiled coldly, a little glint of controlled madness dancing in his grey eyes.

"Bye-bye. You little one." he said before swing Ragnarok down toward her, ready to lob her head off. **CLANG!** Naomi's hand suddenly sprang up and grabbed the blade, causing Crona, Zoro and Brook to jump. The girl then raised her head to reveal an insane grin on her face, her eyes glazed over. Crona recognised that expression all too well: madness. Instinctively Crona wrenched Ragnarok out of Naomi's grip, slicing her palm in the process, but the mute girl didn't even notice as she began to get to her feet.

"Hey what's going on with her?" Zoro asked.

"Yoho. I think we may have ticked the young lady off." Brook said a little scared.

"Somehow her wavelength's gone out of control. She's went completely mad." Crona said as Naomi began to approach them. "I think the ringing caused some sort of reaction."

"She must have had some sort of trauma in the past when the sound occurred." Brook said.

"That seems legit. Guess we're not done yet." Zoro growled as he readied his swords. Naomi took another step before vanishing again. "That speed trick again huh? It won't work on us twice since we have all this li-AAAARRGH!" Zoro cried out as Naomi appeared in front of him, her blade stabbed in his shoulder.

"ZORO!" Crona and Brook cried as the swordsman kicked Naomi away and clutched his shoulder.

"Dammit NOW you've pissed me off, ya little wench!" He snarled. Naomi then sped passed him, her manic expression unchanged before she flew at Brook, sword at the ready. **SLASH!-SLASH!-SLASH!-SLASH!-SLASH!** The skeleton stood where he was for a few moments after Naomi made several fast slashes at him, before, **PLINKETY-PLONK~!** He fell to pieces, becoming nothing but a pile of bones, with his disco-dancer clothes lying around them.

"BROOK!" Zoro and Crona yelled. A few moments passed before a green mist began to seep up from the pile of bones before taking the form of a gas like version of Brook's skull and afro.

"Oh dear me~!" he sang. "This really is quite a pickle I've gotten myself into. Sorry, chaps, but you're going to have to finish her off without me, while I pull myself together. YOHOHOHOHO~!"

"Phew. Good he's completely unharmed." Zoro smiled.

"_You call THAT unharmed?!_" Ragnarok squawked. "_The bone-bag's gone to pieces!_"

"Don't worry he'll be alright. Like he said, he'll pull himself together eventually." Zoro smirked before turning back to the mad Naomi. "But that being said, I'm still gonna get back at that bitch for humiliating him like that."

"Agreed." Crona said. But at that moment Zoro suddenly got an idea.

"Crona. How many of those swords can you make?"

"At the most three."

"Perfect. That's the exact number I need. Now here's the plan. I'm gonna keep that freak busy while you get ready to attack from a distance."

"You mean use my screech alpha?"

"No that move's too slow. But you're close. You're just gonna need something faster than that. You saw the move I used on the cave right?"

"You mean, you want me too…"

"You think you can do it?" Crona thought for a moment before giving Zoro a confident smile.

"Yeah, I think I know how to deal with that." he said with a small grin.

"Good, then it's ShowTime." Zoro said before charging towards Naomi. "IT'S JUST YOU AND ME, GIRL!" he roared before he began to grow four more arms and two heads.

"_WHOA! What's happening to him?! He's turning into a monster!_" Ragnarok gasped.

"Is that?" Crona said recognising the figure.

"Nine-Sword Style: Asura!" Zoro said as he attacked Naomi with all nine swords, the mute girl having to be quick to keep up with blocking them. Crona, viewing this, saw his chance.

"Ragnarok. Let's do this."

"_Oh this is gonna be sweet!_" Ragnarok said, excited, before Crona summoned two more demon swords into his hand. The first looked the same as his original sword, but had two hilts. The second sword had a much wider blade, like a machete and the mouth of the sword started from the edge and ended hallway along both faces. Crona then slowly raised the second sword before placing it in his teeth, and holding the other two swords in his hands, which he then began to raise and held horizontally above his shoulders.

"Scream resonance."

"**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!**" The screaming tripled by the number of swords Crona placed his feet firmly against the ground.

"Three-Sword Style: Screech…SIGMA!" **SLASH!** With that, Crona swung all three of his demon swords in a circular motion before blasting a swirling, jagged cloud of black and purple energy, complete with sharp eye holes and a mouth full of long pointed fangs. The cloud torpedoed towards Zoro and Naomi, the former seeing the attack coming, grinned before leaping away. Naomi at first looked confused, before Zoro smiled smugly at her and pointed to his right in a gun like motion. She looked in said direction and only gasped in fear as the cloud flew at her, a killer grin on its face as it opened its mouth. **CHOMP!** In single bite, the cloud bit Naomi's entire top half clean off, leaving only her legs standing. They comically staggered around for a few seconds before collapsing and twisting into black nothingness, leaving a single glowing red soul behind. Zoro smiled before facing Crona who looked surprised, before he smiled back at Zoro.

"We did it." He said. Zoro only nodded back, with a proud smile.

"You did pretty great for a beginner." He grinned.

"Yohohohohoho~! I'm quite impressed myself!" the two turned to see Brook reassembled once more, and juts placing his hat back on his head. "I never thought I'd see another person who could use Three-Sword Style. I think I'd like to try it out sometime."

"I think you should just stick with fencing, Brook." Zoro replied. Crona then walked over to Naomi's soul before picking it up and handing it to Ragnarok who sprouted from his back.

"WHOO~! THAT WAS SUCH A RUSH!" he cheered before grabbing the soul and swallowing it. "This three sword thing is the best! You gotta teach us, moss head."

"I'm pretty sure you can teach yourselves." Zoro smirked, until his eyes widened. "DAMN! We need to get back to the ship!"

"You're right, the others are in trouble!" Crona yelped. The trio then began to speed out of the hole in the mountain, but not before Crona turned back to face the prisoners, who had been cheering them. "Don't worry; we'll come back once we've finished off the other Bluebeards."

"YOU CAN DO IT, CRONA~!" Rachel cheered.

"We're counting on you!" another prisoner shouted. Crona smiled back before following Zoro and Brook.

XXX

As they neared the Sunny, Zoro, brook and Crona saw the rest of the groups approaching the rendezvous as well, but soon noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Black Star?" Kid asked.

"Wasn't he with you about an hour ago?" Spike asked. Maka, Soul and Luffy looked at the ground, while Tsubaki appeared expressionless.

"We ran into the last member of Bluebeard's crew. Black Star defeated him but…he…he sacrificed himself." Maka chocked.

"You're…you're not saying that…" Nami tried to speak.

"We couldn't find his body or sense his soul anywhere." Soul said his hair concealing his eyes. The group immediately began to mourn the loss of their friend. Nami, Blair, Liz, Patty and even Spike were close to tears. Kid, Usopp, Sanji, Franky, Zoro, Brook, Crona and Ragnarok screwed their eyes shut as they held their pain back, though Crona and Kid couldn't help but let a couple of tears escape their eyes. Even Ragnarok barely kept his ping pong eyes form watering either.

"We're going to kill him." Tsubaki spoke breaking the silence. "I won't let Black Star die in vain. I'll never let Bluebeard live for this." She then began to head towards the Sunny.

"Tsubaki wait for us." Maka called, but as they made it up the gangplank, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." Bluebeard, and the reaming members of his crew stood before the Straw-hats and the DWMA gang and sitting before them, bound and gagged were Robin, Chopper, Shino, Mark and Will. "Now just who am I going to eat first?"

To be continued…

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Review, please!


	7. The Camellia Blossom's Revenge

**Ch. 7- The Camellia Blossom's Revenge- The Madness Consumes Tsubaki?**

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One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

Blizzard, Bluebeard Pirates, Shino Kurohana, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Marcus "Mark" Clayborne, and William "Will" Clayborne © Me

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The Straw Hats and the DWMA Gang stared in shock at the sight of Bluebeard Pirates on the _Sunny's_ deck, holding Chopper, Robin, Shino, Mark, and Will hostage.

"You let my little brothers and my Meister go!" Spike barked.

"Oh, I don't think so, young lady," Bluebeard said. "Not after what you did to Lilith."

Lilith snickered as she held one of her diamond claws to Shino's throat, threatening to slit it open. Shino made a muffled cry as he tried to get away. Spike growled as she attempted to advance on Lilith, but Bluebeard held up his hand.

"Ah-ah-ah~!" he said. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If any of you make one false move, we'll kill your little friends and eat their souls."

"You bastard!" Luffy hissed.

"By the way," Bluebeard said, "I can't help but noticed that one of you is missing."

"You mean Black*Star, right?" asked Soul. "In case you're wondering…thanks to that muscle-bound pal of yours, he's gone."

"So Brokko actually killed him, eh?" asked Judith.

"Wrong," Maka said. "Black*Star defeated him but he gave his life, doing so."

Upon hearing that, the hostages' eyes went wide.

_Black*Star…is dead?!_ Mark thought.

_No! Not our hero!_ Will cried in his head.

_Black*Star…no!_ Shino thought.

Chopper's eyes began to flood with tears while Robin stared sadly at the floor.

"What?" Bluebeard questioned in surprise. "Then what about Naomi? Where is she?!"

Ragnarok snickered as he patted his stomach.

"She tasted delicious," the Demon Sword said, "but could've used a little salt."

"You…you killed her?!" Bluebeard questioned, angrily. "YOU BASTARDS! SHE WAS ONLY 17!"

"Uh, hello! She turned EVIL!" Spike barked.

"How could you?!" Lilith questioned. "Naomi was like a daughter to us!"

"That's right," Judith answered. "Before Naomi joined, Captain Bluebeard and Miss Lilith were looking forward to having a baby together…until Turu discovered that Miss Lilith is unable to get pregnant. It devastated them both."

The Straw Hats and the DWMA gang stared at the Bluebeard Pirates in both surprise and slight sadness, save for Tsubaki.

"Then one day, we came upon an island," said Reggie. "We found Naomi's village, completely destroyed. Then, we found Naomi herself."

Turu made a few clicks and whistles.

"She had a severe injury to her larynx," Judith translated. "Because of that, she was completely unable to speak."

"When I saw Naomi, that day," Bluebeard, "she actually touched my heart. We took her in because she had nowhere else to go."

"She was such a sweetheart," Lilith said with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Even if she couldn't speak, we could tell she was grateful to us. She loved us like we were her real family!"

"And now she's gone…" Bluebeard whispered before he looked up at the group of heroes. "You're all going to pay for this! I'll devour every last one of your damn souls!" He then glanced at Robin and smirked before he grabbed her, making her cry out in a muffled voice.

"Robin, no!" Zoro cried.

"I think I'll start with you," Bluebeard said before he put his hand on Robin's skull and began to squeeze on it, threatening to crush it, but then…

"Puppet Shadow…"

**SHUNK!** What looked like a black, sharp branch seemed to appear out of nowhere and stabbed Bluebeard right through the stomach. Bluebeard gasped in shock and pain before he pulled out the branch.

"W-what the hell?!" he questioned.

"Jules!" Lilith cried.

Bluebeard looked up and saw, to his surprise, that the branch is actually a part of Tsubaki's shadow. The Dark Arm herself had strange black markings around on her face and her shadow looked almost like some sort of distorted stick figure that repeatedly muttered the word, "Shadow…shadow…!"

"What the hell is that?!" Luffy asked.

"It's Tsubaki's Puppet Shadow!" Maka said. "She got that from her older brother after she consumed his soul!"

Suddenly, Tsubaki's shadow branched out and its claws cut through the ropes that bound Robin, Chopper, Shino, Mark, and Will.

"We're free!" Mark exclaimed.

"Thanks, Tsubaki!" Will said, but then noticed Tsubaki's anger.

"Oh, no…!" Shino muttered as he eyed Tsubaki's visage. "Don't tell me…!"

"You pirates…" Tsubaki hissed. "You're all going to pay. I lost my Meister because of you. No…Black*Star wasn't just my Meister…I…I loved him!"

Everyone gasped upon hearing that statement. However, the most shocked of them had to be poor Will.

_Tsubaki likes Black*Star?_ he thought before comical tears began to fall from his eyes. _Aww, man! Can't things ever go my way?!_

"Tsubaki…!" Maka whispered in surprise.

"That's right," Tsubaki said. "I loved him in spite of all his faults, but I never got the chance to tell him because he's gone! But I won't let his death be in vain…I'm going to kill you all, right here and now! PREPARE TO DIE!"

She then charged at Bluebeard, eyes wide with rage. In fact, the whites of her eyes weren't even white anymore. They had turned black with red irises…just like her brother, Masamune.

"PUPPET SHADOW!" she shouted before she sent her shadow to attack Bluebeard once again, but then, Reggie pulled out a handgun and pulled the trigger. **BANG!** He fired the gun, and the resulting shot hit Tsubaki right in her shoulder, but for some reason, the Dark Arm didn't seem to feel the stinging pain. In fact, she completely ignored as she sent her shadow to stab Bluebeard in the arm.

"What's wrong with her?!" Nami asked.

"Yeah! She just got shot!" Franky said.

"It's the madness!" Maka answered.

"What?" Luffy asked.

"The madness of revenge," said Soul. "When Black*Star died, Tsubaki must've stepped into it. It protects Tsubaki from feeling any kind of fear, but her soul becomes consumed. If she goes any deeper…there's a good chance she may not come out of it!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH!" Tsubaki roared as she punched Bluebeard in the face, but Bluebeard grabbed her by her throat and threw her into a wall.

"Kill her!" Bluebeard demanded.

Lilith charged at Tsubaki, who prepared to endure a slash from her diamond claws, but then, **CLANG!** Shino appeared and blocked the evil woman's claws with the Spike, who had turned into her scythe form.

"Don't even think about it!" Shino barked.

"_We've got some unfinished business with you, missy!"_ Spike said.

"You brats…!" Lilith hissed, remembering the injury the Meister and weapon had given her, earlier that day.

**WOOSH!** Shino swung Spike at Lilith, who somersaulted backwards to avoid the attack and ran off onto the island, towards the beach.

"_Shino, don't let her get away!"_ Spike exclaimed.

"Right!" Shino said before he gave chase after Lilith, only to stumble when he felt a harsh pain in his ankle. "Ah, dammit! My ankle still hurts!"

"_Maybe you should stay here and rest, Shino,"_ Spike said. _"I'll go after her."_

"You know you can't fight without me!" Shino said.

"_Then what do you want me to do?!"_ Spike questioned.

"_Maybe I can help,"_ Blizzard said as he approached the two. _"I can carry Shino on my back."_

"_That works,"_ Spike said. _"Shino, go ahead and get on Blizzard's back. Looks like he's gonna be your ride."_

"The only animals I've ever ridden are horses," said Shino, "but I guess a horse-sized dog won't be much of a difference."

With that, Shino climbed onto Blizzard's back, with some effort due to his ankle. However, the wolf-dog helped him by pushing him with his nose.

"Luffy!" Shino called. "I'm gonna borrow Blizzard! Do you mind?"

"No!" Luffy answered. "Go ahead and take him! Just be careful, all of you!"

"_Don't worry, Luffy,"_ Blizzard said. _"It's you I'm worried about."_

With that, Blizzard ran off after Lilith, taking Shino and Spike with him.

Back with Tsubaki, she is being held back by Judith and Reggie. Turu has just loaded his dart blower and is ready to shoot her with his poison darts, right in the chest, but then, **THWAK!** Sanji landed a kick right in the aboriginal man's face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sanji questioned. "If you think that I'm gonna let you harm Miss Tsubaki, you're dead wrong!"

Turu shakily got to his feet, and as he looked at Sanji, it is revealed that the resulting kick had given him a broken nose. Turu clicked and whistles as he realigned the bridge of his nose.

"You don't scare me, Paint Face," said Sanji.

"Wait a minute," said Zoro as he walked passed Sanji, his swords drawn. "I'm dealing with this guy, cook. He's gonna pay for trying to hurt Robin."

Sanji glared at Zoro for a moment before he sighed.

"Fine," he said. "Do whatever, moss-head."

Turu made more clicking sounds with his tongue before he jumped away from Zoro and made a run for the island.

"Where do you think you're going, you skinny rat?!" Zoro questioned before he gave chase. "Come back here!"

Tsubaki glared at Judith and Reggie before she pushed them off of herself with her Puppet Shadow.

"SHADOW!" the shadow cried as it tried to stab Reggie with its claws, only to miss when the spider-man jumped back to avoid the attack.

"Dammit!" Reggie cursed before he turned into his tarantula form. "This girl isn't even trying to put up a fight! Her shadow's the one doing all the work!"

"Perhaps we should make an effort at attacking the source," Judith noted as he pulled out a dagger. "If we can't attack the shadow, then we'll have to kill the girl."

"Right," Reggie said as her bared his fangs at Tsubaki, who glared at them with her blackened eyes, but before she could get her shadow to attack again, **THWAM! BANG-BANG!** The sole of a black shoe connected with Judith's gut, two pink glowing bullets hit Reggie in the face.

It is none other than Sanji and Kid, the latter holding Liz and Patty in their pistol forms.

"I believe we have some unfinished business, as well, don't you agree?" Kid asked Reggie.

Reggie growled angrily at Kid, some saliva seeping from his jaws.

"You're going to pay for that, boy!" the spider-man shouted before he crawled backwards until he stood on the roof of Zoro and Robin's room. He then turned around, his abdomen facing Kid. Before the young Reaper could react, **PLURT!** A white, sticky, thread-like substance came out of Reggie's abdomen and completely wrapped itself around Kid.

"AGH!" Kid cried before his entire head is consumed.

"_Eww, gross!"_ Liz cried. _"He just shot this stuff out of his ass! So nasty!"_

Patty only laughed at her sister's expense. Once Kid, Liz, and Patty are completely wrapped up in the silky webbing, Reggie grabbed the little cocoon and carried it off, heading towards the forest.

"Kid!" Maka cried.

"Liz! Patty!" Nami shouted.

"I'll get them!" Usopp exclaimed as he ran after them. "The Great Captain Usopp isn't afraid of some spider!"

"It's just you and me, then, pretty boy," Sanji said. "You're going to pay for trying to harm Robin and Tsubaki."

"Humph!" Judith scoffed. "Come and get me, then."

With that, the supposed gentleman ran off onto the island's shore, and Sanji gave chase after him.

Tsubaki turned around and saw that aside from Turu, the only one remaining is Bluebeard. Her darkened eyes went wide before she turned to the captain with a hateful glare.

"You…!" she hissed. "You're mine!"

"Well, well," Bluebeard said. "You must be either very brave or very stupid to challenge me, little girl. However, I can't really be bothered with a small fry, such as yourself."

"What?!" Tsubaki questioned.

"You heard me," Bluebeard said. "Face it. Without your little friend, you're nothing. The only reason why you've managed to put up this much of a fight is because of that freakish shadow of yours!"

"You're wrong!" Tsubaki said. "I could easily defeat you, even without my shadow!"

"Really?" Bluebeard asked, mockingly. "Prove it."

Tsubaki growled as she pulled her shadow back into the ground and she charged at Bluebeard…who simply sidestepped and kicked her right in her jaw. Tsubaki ended up getting sent flying right into a wall.

"Tsubaki!" Will cried as he ran to his crush's aid.

"Tsubaki, are you okay?!" Maka asked.

Tsubaki ignored Maka as she surprisingly pushed Will away from her.

"Tsubaki…!" Will whispered with tears in his eyes.

_What's wrong with her?_ he thought. _This isn't the Tsubaki I fell in love with!_

"You see?" asked Bluebeard. "You can't even hope to defeat me."

"Shut up!" Tsubaki snapped.

"You're just like your name implies," Bluebeard said. "You're the camellia blossom: a flower without fragrance. When you fall…it is silent and tragic."

Tsubaki's eyes went wide when she heard the very same words that her brother once said to her.

"However," said Bluebeard, "I'm willing to give you a sporting chance. If you're so eager to die, Tsubaki, then come and fight me on my ship. Oh, and Straw Hat Luffy?"

Luffy glanced at Bluebeard when he heard him call his name.

"I look forward to seeing you there, as well," he said with a toothy grin.

Luffy glared at Bluebeard as he snickered.

All of a sudden, Tsubaki stood up and charged at Bluebeard, once again, drawing a shuriken from her leg pouch, but the evil pirate captain pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots at her. **KABANG-BANG-BANG!** Tsubaki got hit in her shoulder, her leg, and her stomach, but she ignored the pain and continued to charge. She threw the shuriken at Bluebeard, who dodged the small weapon, before **POW!** He kicked Tsubaki in the back of her head, sending her down to the deck, once more, but even then, the Dark Arm ignored her injuries and prepared to attack Bluebeard once more.

That's when Maka decided that enough was enough.

"Somebody stop her!" she shouted. "She's gonna get herself killed!"

Without another word, Luffy suddenly dashed toward Tsubaki and tackled her to the deck.

"This is getting boring," said Bluebeard. "I'm heading for my ship. See you there, Straw Hat Luffy."

With that, Bluebeard disappeared with lightning speed.

"No!" Tsubaki shouted as she struggled to get out of Luffy's grip. "Come back here, you coward! You won't get away from me! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!"

"Tsubaki! Stop!" Luffy cried. "Calm down!"

"NO!" Tsubaki spat as she continued to struggle. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO AVENGE BLACK*STAR! LET ME GO, RIGHT NOW!"

**SHUNK!** Tsubaki summoned her Puppet Shadow and stabbed Luffy in the stomach, much to everyone's shock, but Luffy ignored the pain and continued to hold Tsubaki down. Then, he lifted his hand, balled it up into a fist, and then, **BAP!** He punched Tsubaki right across her face, causing her to stare at the captain in surprise.

"Hey!" Will shouted. "What did you go and punch Tsubaki for?!"

"…Tsubaki," Luffy said. "I didn't wanna punch you like that…but you left me no choice! You were out of control!"

Tsubaki continued to stare at Luffy, her black eyes slowly turning white and the markings on her face beginning to fade.

"Look, Tsubaki," Luffy said. "I know what it's like to lose somebody. I understand that you and Black*Star were very close. I felt the same way when I lost my big brother, Ace, two years ago!"

"What?" Soul questioned.

"Is this true?" Maka asked in surprise.

"It's true," said Nami. "Two years ago, Luffy and Blizzard got themselves in a war. They were trying to save Luffy's older brother, Ace, was from being wrongfully executed…but Ace sacrificed himself for their sake, in the end."

"…that's terrible," said Crona.

"Tsubaki…I understand that you don't want Black*Star to die in vain," said Luffy. "but…that's no reason to get yourself killed, too."

Tsubaki kept on staring into Luffy's eyes, which are filled with both sadness and sincerity, and by this time, her eyes and her face had returned to normal. Luffy stood up and backed away from Tsubaki, who sat up on her knees, although she did feel a bit of pain in her leg from when she was shot.

"Don't worry," Luffy said with a smile. "You sit back and let Chopper treat your wounds…and I'll kick Bluebeard's ass…for you and Black*Star."

A pause came, but then, a small whimper escaped through Tsubaki's lips. Her eyes began to well up with tears, and then, she sobbed as she wrapped her arms around Luffy, who stumbled a bit in surprise before he smiled and hugged her back. Despite the sweet moment, Nami tried her hardest to hide her jealousy.

"Thank you…!" Tsubaki sobbed. "I'm so sorry…!"

"It's okay," Luffy as he gently pat Tsubaki on her head. "We understand."

Maka then approached Tsubaki and placed her hand on her shoulder with Soul standing behind her.

"Luffy's not gonna do it alone, Tsubaki," said Maka. "Soul and I are going with him."

"That's right," Soul said. "That bastard's gonna pay for this."

Tsubaki smiled slightly before she grunted in pain, finally taking notice of her injuries.

"Chopper!" Luffy called. "Help Tsubaki!"

"Right!" Chopper said before he shifted into his Heavy Point and gently scooped Tsubaki into his arms. He then carried her off into the sick bay, and Will followed behind him.

"Maka," Luffy said. "You can sense souls, right?"

"Yeah," Maka answered.

"In that case, I'm gonna need you," Luffy said. "We gotta find Bluebeard's ship."

"Right," Maka said.

"Luffy!" Nami called as she approached her captain and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. As quickly as she did, she broke the kiss and gently brushed her fingers against his cheek. "I know it's pointless to say this, but…please be careful."

"Don't worry, Nami," he said. "I promise I'll be back before you know it."

Crona approached Maka as well and said, "I'm going, too."

"Are you sure, Crona?" Maka asked.

"Yes," Crona replied. "I can fight, too. I want to help avenge Black*Star."

"Okay, Crona," said Luffy. "You're in. Let's move!"

With that, Luffy, Maka, Soul, and Crona ran off in search of Bluebeard's ship, preparing for the final showdown. As they did, Nami gasped silently as she felt the wind starting to blow rather harshly.

_Oh, no,_ she thought. _This wind can only mean one thing._

"Franky! Brook!" Nami called. "Get the ship ready to sail! Now!"

"You got it!" Franky said.

"At once!" Brook added. "YOHOHOHO!"

With that, the shipwright and the skeleton ran to get the ship ready to sail.

"What's wrong, Nami?" Mark asked.

"Why do we have to set sail already?" Robin questioned.

"…I hope the others finish off the rest of the Bluebeard Pirates soon," Nami said, worriedly. "A monsoon is coming!"

XXX

In the sick bay, Chopper has just removed the last of the bullets from Tsubaki and has bandaged her wounds with Will sitting beside her.

"There you go, Tsubaki," said Chopper. "All done."

"Thank you, Chopper," said Tsubaki.

"Tsubaki…?" asked Will. "I'm really sorry about Black*Star."

"Oh, don't be too sad, Will," said Tsubaki as she gently pet his hair. "Somehow…I feel that Black*Star is still alive. Maybe it's just me still mourning him, though."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps is heard…but it almost sounded like someone is limping. Just then, the door to the sick bay began to slowly creak open, causing everyone to gasp in shock and surprise, but the one who is the most surprised had to be Tsubaki…for standing in the doorway, bloody and leaning on a stick…is Black*Star.

"B…Black*Star…?!" Tsubaki muttered, tearfully.

"Hey, Tsubaki," said Black*Star. "Did you miss me?"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

I feel like this might've been rushed a bit. Oh, well. And yay! Black*Star's still alive!

Review, please!


	8. The Star Returns

Soul EaterXOne Piece Collab Special! Ch. 8- The star returns: the fly beats the spider?

* * *

This chapter is written by yellowpikmin88 on Deviantart. Please credit him, too.

* * *

"…Black Star?" Tsubaki breathed as she saw her meister standing in the back entrance of the sick bay, leaning on his stick. "…it can't be…"

"You'd give up that quickly on me, Tsubaki? And I thought you were smart." Black star grinned.

"BLACK STAR~!" Tsubaki immediately leapt out of the sick bed and tackled the assassin with a hug, knocking him over in the process, as she sobbed into his chest. "I THOUGHT I'D LOST YOU!" she wept.

"Hey come on. I surpassed god, a little fall can't kill me." Black Star chuckled as he patted her head. "Come on, no more tears. I think you've spent plenty on me alrea-"

"Oh just stop talking!" Tsubaki said before grabbing his head and crashing her lips against his. His ocean green eyes widened as she kissed him passionately, before they fluttered closed as he kissed her back, stroking her raven hair. The kiss lasted about a minute before Tsubaki pulled away, her cheeks flushed, as well as Black Star's.

"Wha…What was that?" he asked.

"You dummy, I LOVE YOU!" Tsubaki shouted. "I always have and I thought I'd never get to tell you cause I thought you were dead!" Black Star stared at her in surprise.

"Why? What reason would you have for some stupid little show-off like me?"

"WHAT REASON?! Do you hear yourself?! I don't give a damn if you're loud, dumb and selfish at times. You're much more than that! You're kind, loyal, caring to the ones you hold dear and you don't care about other people's flaws or pasts because you trust them and want to protect them. Anyone who can't love a person like that doesn't have a heart. And speaking of which you have to have the biggest heart in Death City, if not the world, and believe me it's far bigger than your over inflated ego, which I also love mind you! You're not like all the other guys. You're so full of life, determination and love. That's why I chose you as my meister. And that's why I love you, Black Star of the Star Clan." The silence hung in the air as Black Star gazed into Tsubaki's eyes which had once again refilled with their light. He smiled.

"Have I ever told you what a wonderful fragrance you have?" Tsubaki's eyes brimmed with tears once more before pulling him in for another kiss, which he immediately returned. "I love you too, my little Camellia blossom."

"I suddenly feel invisible." Will muttered.

"Join the club." Chopper added, before he suddenly shook his head in realisation. "Wait what the hell are we doing just standing here?! BLACK STAR~!" the little reindeer cried as he ran at the assassin with Will closely following, as they both hugged him. "How did you survive?!"

"Maka said she couldn't sense your soul." Will said.

"I actually survived the fall. Though I did get a bit bashed up. Plus my ribs are still cracked." Black Star winced. "And then I just walked off I guess. It just took me a while to get back to the ship."

"Well we're just so glad you're alive." Will said as he hugged his hero.

"I missed you too." Black Star smiled returning the hug. "Where are the others? And what happened to you, Tsubaki?"

"The Bluebeards were waiting for us. They captured some of the guys but I freed them with my Puppet Shadow." Tsubaki explained. "But I also let the madness take me cause I wanted to avenge you."

"And then after Luffy snapped Tsubaki out of it, Spike, Shino and Blizzard went after that diamond lady. Usopp went after that spider man, who took Kid, Liz and Patty. Sanji went after that fancy guy who hurt Blair once. And Zoro went after that freaky voodoo man." Will said.

"Yeah, and lastly Maka, Soul, Luffy, Crona and Ragnarok have gone after Bluebeard. Everyone else is still here." Chopper added.

"Right. Well can you patch me up, Chopper?"

"Sure, I'll have you fixed in a wink."

"Good, cause I'm going after Zoro."

"WHAT?! But you're injured!" Chopper protested.

"Injured shminjured. A big star like me can't just hang around here while the others are taking the entire spotlight. There'll be none left for me."

"You got plenty of spotlight sacrificing yourself to save the others from Brokko!" Chopper argued.

"Sorry, Doc, but I'm not backing down from this. Either patch me up so I can fight better or get out of my way!" Chopper sighed irritably.

"You're as stubborn as Zoro and Luffy." He then said. "Fine. Just don't do anything drastic."

"He can't make promises when it comes to that." Tsubaki smiled as Chopper got to work. After about half an hour, Black Star had been fully treated, though Chopper told him to keep his chest guarded as his ribs wouldn't fully heal for a week.

"Let's go Tsubaki."

"With you all the way." She smiled before changing to her ninja blade form which Black Star sheathed into his belt before making his way out of the medical bay and onto the main deck, taking the rest of the crew by surprise as they saw him.

"Black Star?!" Robin said in shock.

"It cannot be…" Brook whispered.

"You-You're…" Nami also tried to speak, her eyes brimming with joyful tears.

"Save the hugs and kisses for later guys. Right now I've got work to do." Black Star grinned before taking off from the ship and heading after Zoro.

XXX

Deep within the forest, Reggie scuttled into a nearby clearing, his back legs clutching the cocoon holding Kid, Liz and Patty.

"_LET US OUT YOU DIRTY PARASITE!_" Liz screamed.

"_Fight like a man or I'll pull all your legs off like I used to do to bugs when I was five!_" Patty yipped.

"You'll regret this when we get out of here!" Kid shouted. Reggie just rolled his eight eyes before dumping the silky lump on the ground.

"Just shut up already, no one can hear you." He sighed as he faced the cocoon, before his maw began to drip with saliva. "And now it's supper time!" he then crawled over to the cocoon and lifted it up before long stinger came out of his mouth. "Once I inject my venom into your cocoon you'll be digested into a lovely soul soup for me to slurp up."

"_DIGESTED~?!_" Liz wailed in horror.

"You'll be liquid in ten minutes."

"NO! I won't let it end this way!" Kid roared.

"Oh don't worry. This'll only hurt a lot!" Reggie laughed as he readied his stinger. "I LOVE THIS LIFE!"

"FLAME STAR!" **FWOOSH!** A burst of fire hit the spider-man square in the face, making him scream in pain. As he shook the flames off, he looked up to see Usopp, wearing his chestnut helmet and goggles (A.N.- I love Usopp's Dressrosa helmet), his black Kabuto in hand as he glared daggers at the arachnid. "You overgrown stinkbug! LET 'EM GO!" he cursed. Reggie hissed before throwing the cocoon to the ground. "You won't touch my friends!"

"_USOPP! IS THAT YOU?!_" Liz called.

"Just hold on guys, I'll get you out of there once I'm done Shelob over here!"

"HA! I'm ten times stronger than that house spider! But then you are practically just a weak little hobbit!" Reggie laughed as he began to crawl towards Usopp who gulped. "So come on then, hobbit. Show me what you've got!"

"Gladly! Green star- Bamboo Javelin!" **TWANG! THUNK!** Several giant bamboo shoots erupted from underneath Reggie, launching the massive arachnid into the air.

"WHAT THE HEEEEELLLL?!" he roared.

"And now, Green star- Impact Wolf!" **TWANG! KABANG!** The huge leafy green wolf smashed into the spider, its shockwave pounding his insides like a steak, causing him to cough up a large amount of green blood. CRASH! Reggie smashed into the ground on his back, his legs splayed in the air.

"Think I'm the hobbit huh? You're the one with hairy feet." Usopp smirked. "Hang on guys!" he then said as he rushed passed Reggie and towards the cocoon. **PLURT!** Suddenly a string of webbing wrapped itself around Usopp's ankles tripping him up. **Thud!** "Dammit!" he cursed as he reached for his slingshot, only to see one of Reggie's legs kick it away, the large spider now standing over him.

"I think I'll eat you first." he hissed before lunging at Usopp who rolled away from the spider to avoid his jaws. The sniper managed to pull the webbing off his ankles but gasped as Reggie tackled him towards a tree. Usopp grunted as he tried to push Reggie back, gripping his mandibles.

"Just quit struggling and let me eat you!" the spider-man snarled.

"Over my dead BODY!" Usopp roared as he delivered a hard kick to Reggie's underbelly allowing him to get away to try and find his Kabuto, but Reggie was already charging back to him. "Crap no time!" **SNAP!** Usopp pulled off one of the bamboo javelins before turning back to face Reggie, but he'd suddenly disappeared. "What the? Where'd he go? Get out here and fight Incy-Wincy!" But the sniper froze when he heard the clicking of mandibles above him. Choosing not to look up, Usopp leapt away to avoid Reggie landing on top of him (who'd been hiding in of the trees), but the spider tackled him again and this time stepped on his arm to stop him from escaping.

"Face it boy. You can't beat me. You don't even belong on Straw-hat's crew YOU'RE WEAK!" To his surprised Usopp chuckled.

"Ha. If I had a berry for every time I heard that. From others or myself." He said. "You're right, I am the weakest in the crew, but that doesn't make me weak in general. I had to learn that the hard way. But who gives a damn if I'm not as strong as Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, hell even Nami or Chopper. All that matters is I'm strong in my own way, and my crew, my family, respect me for that. And that's why they'll never let others talk down to me, AND NEITHER WILL I!" **GRAB!** With a sudden burst of strength, Usopp reached out and grabbed the bamboo javelin. **SHUNK!** With that he plunged it into Reggie's belly causing the spider-man to scream in agony and roll off Usopp who scrambled to his feet, before he finally saw his Kabuto. "Bingo!" he then snatched it up before finally reaching the cocoon and readied his shot. "Get ready, guys. This is gonna get hot! Flame star!" **FWOOSH!** The cocoon went up in flames, burning the silk away, until Kid emerged from the charred remains, dusting himself off.

"Great job, Usopp. You really saved our hides." He grinned at the sniper as Liz and Patty changed back to their human forms.

"Eww! That was so gross! I thought I was gonna be soup for certain." Liz groaned as she pulled a strand of web off her arm. "Usopp you saved us!" she then cried joyfully before throwing her arms around Usopp's neck.

"MY HERO~!" Patty cheered as she hugged him as well. **Smooch!** The pistols then kissed him on both cheeks taking him by shock before he grinned widely and rubbed the back of his head with a blush.

"Aww it was nothing, ladies~. I fought giant spiders like this when I was seven years old." he said sheepishly.

"Sure you did." Liz laughed at his lie and flicked his nose teasingly.

"You…" The group then turned to see Reggie in a new form. He had a human shape, but was covered in spider hair. His backside was still a large abdomen and six legs sprouted from his spine. As for his face, his spider leg hair style remained, but he now had eight telescopic eyes and a pair of large mandibles stuck out from his cheek bones. Ain the centre of his chest was a large wound form where Usopp had stabbed him. "YOU LITTLE LONG-NOSED PRICK!" Liz screamed at Reggie's new appearance and hid behind Kid while Patty only laughed.

"HAHAHAHA~! YOU LOOK STU-PID~!" she laughed.

"SHUT UP YOU WENCH!" Reggie roared at the blonde.

"Hey you can't say that to my little sister!" Liz shouted.

"Yeah and what are you gonna do about it?!"

"Kid?"

"With pleasure." The reaper replied before taking Liz's hand as she transformed into a gun. Patty soon followed suit. "This is the part where we kill you." He then spoke to Reggie.

"If anyone's going to die tonight, it'll be the both of you!" Reggie roared before he began to charge. Kid and Usopp both smirked at each other before taking aim. **BANG!-BANG!-BANG!-BANG!-BANG!** Kid fired several blasts at Reggie who roared in pain as one of his mandibles was blown off as well as one of his legs. "FUCKER!"

"Green star- Devil!" **TWANG!** Usopp launched a seed at Reggie which sprouted into a giant Venus flytrap. The plant snapped at him, as it tried to scoop him up. **SPURT!** Reggie suddenly spat a gob of green liquid at the plant which then began to dissolve.

"_WHOAH! HE CAN SPIT ACID?!_" Liz yelped.

"Stomach acid, I think. He is part spider after all." Kid said.

"In that case don't let that stuff touch you!" said Usopp. Reggie kept running at the two snipers, spitting acid and shooting silk to try and tie them up as they doged and ducked the attacks.

"STAY STILL!" he growled.

"Don't touch his silk either. I saw it burn Sanji in our last fight with him." Kid added.

"Wait that's it." Usopp said, before he grabbed another bamboo shoot and began to climb up one of the trees.

"Usopp what are you doing?!" Kid called, until Usopp perched on one of the branches and made a face at Reggie, stretching his mouth with his fingers and sticking out his tongue.

"BLEEEHH~! Incy-Wincy Reggie climbed up the water spout~! Along came Captain Usopp to take dear Reggie out~! Pulled out his slingshot and shot him in the eye~! And poor old ugly Reggie fell down the spout and died~!" Usopp sang in a dumb voice, with his eyes crossed as he shook his buttocks at the spider-man who now looked absolutely pissed. Kid, Liz and Patty all looked at Usopp in surprise for moment before they all burst out laughing which only made Reggie even angrier.

"SHADDUP! I'M GONNA DEVOUR YOU LONG-NOSE!" Reggie thundered as he changed back to his tarantula form and began to crawl up the tree towards Usopp.

"LOOKOUT USOPP HE'S COMING!" Kid called, as the spider drew closer and aimed his abdomen at Usopp.

"This silk will burn you alive when I cocoon you with it!" he snarled. **PLURT!** He then shot a thick ball of venomous silk at Usopp, but then suddenly he pulled out the bamboo and caught the web around the end of the shoot. "What the?!" Reggie said.

"GOTCHA NOW YA BASTARD!" Usopp grinned evilly before he pressed the acidic silky end of the stick over Reggie's face and rubbed it all over several of his telescopic orbs. **FSSSSSSSS!**

"MY EYES~!" Reggie screamed as he fell off the tree with Usopp standing on his belly.

"YOU GO SQUISH NOW!" Usopp roared. **CRASH!** The giant spider smashed into the forest floor, with Usopp standing victorious on his stomach.

"_WAY TO GO USOPP~!_" Patty cheered.

"_YOU'RE NUMBER ONE~!_" Liz cheered as well.

"Ok Kid, you can have the honour of finishing him." Usopp grinned as he hopped down from Reggie.

"Thank you very much, Usopp." Kid smiled before he transformed Liz and Patty into their death cannon forms and climbed onto Reggie who began to regain consciousness, before he saw Kid aim both barrels at him. The few of his eyes that weren't now a blind milky white, widened in horror.

"My Father sends his regards." Kid smirked. **KABOOM!** In a single blast Reggie's head and thorax exploded into a puddle of bug guts and green blood, before what remained turned jet black and twisted away just as Naomi did, leaving his tainted soul behind. "Good thing Patty's one soul down from Liz. Now you'll be balanced out again." Kid said. **KA-CHAK!** Kid then pulled out Patty's ammo cartridge and held Reggie's soul above it before it was sucked in and Kid put the cartridge back into Patty who proceeded to change back, along with Liz.

"YAY~! WE DID IT~!" Patty cheered.

"YEAH! This time the flies beat the spider~!" Usopp cheered as he and the pistol danced the Kankan in victory, while Liz and Kid smiled at them.

"Now let's get back to the Sunny. The guys will have probably been worried about us." Liz said.

"Good call. I really need to stretch after being stuck in that webbing." Kid said as the four proceeded back to the ship, their spirits high with victory.

XXX

Zoro sped through the forest after Turu who was just ahead of him. The swordsman was growing tired and angry of chasing the voodoo master and decided enough was enough.

"NO MORE RUNNING!" he yelled. **SLASH!** Zoro then sent a crescent blade of air at Turu catching the man in the back and sending him tumbling into a nearby clearing, allowing Zoro to come to a halt to catch his breath. "Now get up and fight me, coward." The voodoo man snarled before standing up and facing Zoro and pulling out his blow gun. "Yeah some weapon you got there." Zoro said smugly. "And don't think I'll let you near my hair so you can use your voodoo doll again. I came prepared this time." He then untied his bandana from his arm, before tying it around his head, concealing his hair. "Try and control me now." He grinned. Turu glared at him before pulling out a handful of darts. **PHT!-PHT!-PHT!-PHT!-PHT!** The voodoo man then blew the darts at Zoro in quick bursts who either dodged or deflected them with his swords, before Turu then pulled out a bow and began to fire arrows at Zoro.

"Is this some sort of game to you, paint-face?" he growled. "When are you gonna start fighting for-WHAH!" **THWIP!** All of sudden a rope snared itself around Zoro's ankle and hoisted him into the air, dropping his swords in the process. It turns out Turu had been slowly backing Zoro away with his darts and arrows towards the rope trap he'd set up. "Clever bastard." Zoro smirked. "You set this all up and lured me here to trap me. Cheap, but clever." Turu smiled coldly as he approached Zoro and pulled out a small tomahawk and reeled his hand back preparing to cut Zoro's head open. **GRAB!** But as he swung his tomahawk, Zoro grabbed it with one of his hands before delivering a solid punch to Turu's face with his other hand. **POW!** The man was sent flying back before Zoro cut himself down with the tomahawk.

"But you let you let your guard down thinking you'd got me. Don't let your pride get in the way, cause it'll be your downfall." He said as he picked up his swords. "Now where were we?" Turu growled before picking up his bow again and loading it with a different type of arrow that had some sort of round object attached to the front. **TWANG!** He shot the arrow towards Zoro until **POP!** The round object burst into a cloud of darts.

"CRAP!" Zoro said, taken by surprise by the sudden burst of darts. "DRAGON TWISTER!" **THWASH!** The swordsman released a whirlwind form his swords which sucked up the darts, but he grunted when one of them managed to hit him in the arm. "Dammit! Starting to get numb." He growled as his nerves and muscles began to stiffen from the poison. He tried to get away but Turu grinned as he fired another arrow which hit Zoro in the leg. "GAH!" the man fell to the ground unable to move as Turu approached him. "Go ahead and do it. I never beg for mercy!" Zoro spat. Turu only readied another arrow and aimed at Zoro's head. **WHAM!** A steel tipped boot suddenly connected with the voodoo man's head sending him skidding across the forest floor.

"What the hell?!" Zoro looked to see none other than Black Star standing in front of him. "Black Star?"

"You can thank me later, Zoro."

"But-But you're dead."

"Could've been, but I'm not." The assassin grinned. "Now how 'bout you get off the ground and let's finish this."

"I would, but the bastard's darts can paralyze you. I think I'm gonna be stuck like this for a few minutes."

"Oh well, more spotlight for me then." Black Star grinned as Turu began to get to his feet. "Bring it on witch doctor." Turu readied his blow again and loaded his darts. **PHT!-PHT!-PHT!-PHT!-PHT!** Black Star easily dodged the attacks as he sped towards the man. "Tsubaki, kusarigama mode."

"_Right!_" Tsubaki said before transforming to her chain scythe form which Black Star began to whirl rapidly. **WHOOSH!** He then threw one head past Turu's side and the second head passed his other side, trapping him in between the chains. This of course caught the man's attention as he saw the scythes shoot past him, but then gasped when he turned back to see Black Star holding the chain and delivering a flying kick to his celiac plexus, the same move he'd used on Sid in his remedial lesson with Maka. **THWAK!** The voodoo man coughed heavily and shook violently from having not his breath knocked out but his central nerves being heavily bashed.

"Nice kick there, Black Star." Zoro said who'd finally managed to get back up, the poison having worn off.

"Oh Zoro, you're up."

"Yeah, now we can finish this." But just then the duo saw Turu get back up once more, but this time he looked very angry as he reached for his blow gun again.

"Give it up, witch doctor. That pea shooter's no match for us!" Black Star said. Turu smirked before he twisted the end of the pipe and several holes appeared along its length.

"What the?" Zoro said confused before Turu put the pipe to his lips and began to blow into it, but instead of darts, a mystifying music began to seep out of the pipe. "He's turned his blow gun into a flute." But then the ground began to shake beneath their feet and several bulges swelled up on the surface.

"What's happening?!" Black Star shouted, until about thirty figures sprouted out of the ground.

"ZOMBIES?!" Black Star and Zoro both said in shock.

"This guy can summon the dead?!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Looks like it. Guess this is gonna take a while." Black Star grimaced before the two of them began to take out the zombies as fast as they could. But no matter how many they sliced impaled, stabbed or slashed, more kept coming out of the ground.

"Dammit they just keep coming!" Zoro snarled as he cut another one in half.

"We need to get rid of the guys flute." Black Star said, but as he looked for Turu he saw that he'd vanished. "He's gone." But it was then that he suddenly lost his footing, and as he looked down, he saw that he was being pulled into to the ground by several pairs of dead hands. "ZORO HELP!" but he soon saw the swordsman being pulled into the earth as well. "ZORO!"

"BLACK STAR!" Zoro yelled before his head disappeared.

"NO!" Black Star cried before his head was finally pulled beneath the ground. At first there was nothing but blackness as Black Star floated in it, his eyes closed, until a faint glow came into view causing him to open his eyes. He could see a small bright light ahead of him, but soon more and more appeared in the black void he was floating in.

"_Black Star…~_"

"Tsubaki?"

"_I just got you back, and I won't lose you again~._" he heard her voice echo.

"What is this? Where am I? Where are you?"

"_I'm right in front of you. I'm the stars. Don't you remember when we visited my family to train together? You told me that if you were the black sky I would be your shining stars because I'm always there to guide you. I'll never let the darkness take you. You're mine, and I'm yours._" (A.N.- he really said the thing about the sky and stars in the manga)

The small lights began to come together before Tsubaki stood before Black Star, her black hair flowing openly and her exposed skin covered in her enchanted sword markings (obviously covering her private areas). She smiled warmly at him before opening her arms to him. Black Star stared at her at first, entranced before he began to move towards her, reaching out to her, before she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, resting his head against her heart. "I love you."

XXX

Black Star opened his eyes to find himself lying on the forest floor, as he sat up, but then gasped when he saw Turu drawing near to an unconscious Zoro, knife in hand. Thinking fast Black Star grabbed Tsubaki (in her ninja blade form) and threw her at Turu, stabbing him in the back. The man yelled in pain as Black Star dashed up and kicked him away.

"Zoro! Zoro wake up!" he said as he shook the swordsmen who awoke with a start.

"What the hell?! What happened?!"

"It was a hallucination. He was trying to knock us out and kill us while we were unconscious." Black Star growled.

"Bastard." Zoro snarled getting to his feet. "Right, enough messing about."

"Too true...Wait a minute...Zoro I've got an idea." He then whispered something to the swordsman who grinned.

"You're just as much as demon as I am."

"HAHAHAHAHA! You go that right now let's do this!" Black Star said. "Tsubaki smoke bomb mode."

"_Got it!_" Tsubaki said before changing into a small round smoke bomb with her face and a fuse like her pony tail. **POOF!** Black Star then threw the bomb to the ground resulting in a huge plume of white smoke flooding the area. Turu looked around for any sight of Black Star or Zoro before he saw the former standing in front of him holding Tsubaki in her enchanted sword mode.

"No more games. Just you and me." Turu looked at him before drawing a bone handled blade from his belt and the two began to slowly circle the clearing never taking their eyes of one another.

~**Assassin's rule #1- Silence: dissolve in the darkness and erase your breath. Wait for an opening to attack your target.**~

The two continued to circle the area, and Turu couldn't help but feel like something was off about Black Star. His eyes seemed to look bluer than before.

~**Assassin's rule #2- Transpositional thinking: analyse the target in order to predict his thoughts and movements.**~

Black star finally stopped circling, as did Turu, before the assassin's body began to turn brown and disintegrate into a flurry of leaves before standing in Black Star's place…was Tsubaki, in the exact same position. She smirked.

"Surprise. How do you like our Shadow Star?" Turu's eyes widened.

~**Assassin's rule #3- Speed: take out the target before the target notices your presence.**~

The voodoo man turned his head around but it was already too late as Black Star shot at him, his feet not making a sound before reeling back his fist and elbow.

"Finishing strike- Black Star BIG WAVE!" **BAM!** The assassin slammed into Turu releasing his soul wavelength into his body and frying his nerves. A huge blue bubble of energy with many small black orbs with kanji written on them enveloped the two before Turu was launched through the air form the blast. "NOW ZORO!" The swordsman then emerged from the forest before flying towards Turu, his swords at the ready, and his one eye seemed to be glowing red.

"Purgatory ONI GIRI!" **SLASH!** In a single cut and an X-shaped spray of blood Zoro sliced right through the voodoo man, who let out a final strangled gasp before he twisted away to nothing, his soul floating down to the ground which Black Star caught.

"YAHOOOOO!" He cheered leaping in the air. "That's one more Bluebeard dead as dirt!"

"We did it!" Tsubaki cheered as she changed back and the two embraced each other laughing together, Zoro smiling proudly at them.

"Great job you two. You really know how to become invisible. You'd put Kuro to shame with your silent feet."

"You're pretty great yourself, Zoro." Black Star grinned. "I bet you'd even have a chance of surpassing god."

"Nah. I've never believed in god. There'd be no point trying to surpass someone I don't believe in. I don't need prayers to achieve my goals. None of us do. It's all down to yourself in the end if you want to accomplish your dream."

"I couldn't agree more." Black Star said.

"Come on we should get back to Sunny. The others haven't had a chance to welcome you back yet." Tsubaki smiled.

"Yeah let's go gang. I think we've all earned ourselves some good old R&R." Black Star laughed as they journeyed back to the ship to meet up with the others, feeling nothing but victory in their souls.

To be continued…

* * *

Review, please!


	9. Two Wolves Howl

**Ch. 9- Two Wolves Howl! Sanji's Deadly Duel?**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

Blizzard, Bluebeard Pirates, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Shino Kurohana, Mark and Will Clayborne © Me

* * *

Lilith continued to run across the beach, her breath coming out in short pants. Blizzard is still in hot pursuit with Shino still mounted on his back, armed with Spike.

"Give it up, Lilith!" Shino shouted. "You've got nowhere else to run! Surrender!"

"Never!" Lilith shouted before she finally braked to a halt and turned to face the heroes. "You'll never take me!"

**SHEEN!** She pulled off her gloves, revealing her diamond claws.

"I'll butcher all three of you!" Lilith snapped. "Once we've devoured your souls, plus the souls of your little friends, my beloved Jules and I will rebuild our crew from scratch!"

"_Get a clue, you cow,"_ Spike said. _"You're heading down a path of self-destruction!"_

"How dare you!" Lilith snapped. "I'll slice you into ribbons!"

_Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is and bring it on?!_ Blizzard thought, growling viciously.

"_Shino…"_ Spike said. _"There's something wrong…her soul…it's still a Kishin egg, but I can sense it slowly changing."_

"What do you mean?" Shino asked.

**WOOF!** Blizzard suddenly started barking, gaining the Scythe Meister's attention. When he did, however, he saw Lilith charging at them, her diamond claws preparing to cut.

"Whoa!" Shino cried as he blocked Lilith's claws with Spike's handle. Lilith wasn't done. She quickly raised her other claws to try and hit Shino while he was distracted, but Blizzard turned around, reared up on his front paws and kicked Lilith smack in the face with his hind paws. However, that only left Lilith an opening for an attack. She swiped her claws at Blizzard's left flank, leaving four gashes on it and causing the wolf-dog to yelp in pain.

_Dammit, that hurts!_ Blizzard thought.

Blizzard turned and bit Lilith in her arm, nearly throwing Shino off as he did.

"Blizzard, take it easy!" Shino said. "Jeez, how can Luffy ride you?!"

"_Shino, watch it!"_ Spike shouted.

**KLANG!** Shino blocked Lilith's claws with Spike's handle again. **SLASH!** He swung Spike at Lilith, her blade nearly hitting her in her chest again.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Lilith snapped before she slashed her claws at Shino, once again, but Blizzard rammed his head into her side, making her fall onto the sand.

"What's wrong, Lilith?" Shino asked. "Can't handle getting beaten by a Meister, his weapon, and a wolf-dog? What happened to that vigor you had earlier?"

Lilith snickered as she stood up and turned to Shino, a malevolent grin on her face.

"Vigor, you say?" she questioned. "My boy…I was only toying with you from the very beginning. Since you probably won't live much longer…I'll give you a glimpse of the power I've gained from eating human souls."

Suddenly, Lilith's body began to undergo a dramatic…and grotesque change. Her body grew at least 5 times in size, much bigger than Blizzard or Spike. Her skin became gray, rough, and scaly, her teeth began to elongate into sharp fangs, her fingers began to grow to the point where her diamond claws shattered, revealing real claws underneath them. A long, whip-like tail grew out of her backside, followed by a pair of huge, bat-like wings. Her face grew to the point where she has a long muzzle, a pair of horns sprouted from her scalp, and fins appeared on the sides of her face. At this point, one could easily tell that she isn't human anymore.

Now…Lilith has mutated into a large dragon.

_Wow…_ Blizzard thought. _And I thought that she was ugly before!_

"Oh, no…" Shino muttered as he gripped Spike's handle. "It's started.

"_We better finish this now, while we have the chance!"_ Spike said.

"_What's wrong?"_ Blizzard asked.

"_It looks like Lilith has entered the mutation stage,"_ Spike said. _"It's obvious she's eaten more souls than her crew, maybe even more than Bluebeard."_

"If we don't finish her off, now," Shino said, "she'll become a full Kishin!"

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWRR!** Lilith lifted her head to the sky and let out a thunderous roar before she looked down at her supposed prey, her now long and forked tongue lulling out her jaws with hot, slimy saliva dripping from it. Then, with one deep breath, **FWOOOOOSH!** She let out a huge a large stream of green flames from her mouth.

Shino quickly countered by raising Spike, causing the flames to deflect off of her blade.

"_YOW!"_ Spike cried. _"Dammit, Shino! That's hot!"_

"You got any better ideas?!" Shino questioned.

Once the flames died down, Blizzard, Shino, and Spike gasped when they saw Lilith appear in front of them, jaws ready to snap. The wolf-dog leapt away just as the giant dragon-woman strikes.

"That was close," said Shino. "Blizzard! Can you get us closer?"

_Can't make promises since she breathes fire,_ Blizzard thought, _but here goes nothing!_

With that, Blizzard charged at Lilith, forcing Shino to hang on tight. Lilith could only laugh at the sight.

"_Fools!"_ she shouted. _"Is this really the best you can do?!"_

She then raised her tail and swung it at Blizzard.

"_Watch out!"_ Spike cried.

**BAM!** It was too late. Blizzard found himself getting hit by Lilith's large tail, along with Shino. They are soon sent flying into the underbrush.

"Unh…" Shino grunted, clutching his leg. "Dammit…I can't get up!"

"_That's it!"_ Spike said. _"You're outta commission!"_

"What are you talking about?" Shino questioned as he attempted to stand. "I can still fight."

**KRAK!** A sickening crack is heard as Shino tried to put weight on his injured leg, ultimately breaking it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAUUGH!" Shino screamed in pain as he ended up collapsing on his back again. "DAMMIT!"

"_Shino, just leave this to me,"_ Spike said. _"I can handle this."_

"But Spike," Shino started.

"_Just stay in the sidelines, idiot,"_ Spike said before she turned into her wolf form and jumped back into the battlefield.

"Blizzard," Shino said. "Spike may be able to hold her own, but even she's got her limits. You gotta help me…if I don't bring her back home alive, her mom will tear me apart! And trust me, you don't wanna make her mad!"

Blizzard gulped before he nodded her head.

Meanwhile, Spike is now facing Lilith on her own.

"_What's this?"_ Lilith questioned. _"Another pathetic attempt to try and beat me?"_

Spike simply growled.

"_No matter,"_ Lilith said. _"This is where it ends!"_

"_That's what you think, bitch,"_ Spike said.

Lilith before she opened her mouth, preparing to breathe fire, once again.

"_All right, Spike,"_ Spike muttered. _"Time for some good old fashioned witch magic. Remember what Mom taught you!"_

**FWOOOSH!** Lilith let out a stream of fire on Spike, who just stood in her place.

"SPIKE!" Shino cried as he tried to pull himself up on Blizzard's back, again. "GET OUTTA THERE!"

_WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?!_ Blizzard thought.

Spike didn't move. Instead, she started to utter some odd magic words.

"_Wolf, wolf, howl, howl, wolf, howl, howl,"_ she muttered. _"HOWLING CANNON!"_

**BOOM!** Spike opened her mouth, letting out a huge beam of some kind in the form of a howling wolf. The beam collided with Lilith's fiery breath. At that moment, Shino heaved a sigh in relief.

"Sometimes I forget that she's half-witch," he said.

**BOOM!** Lilith's and Spike's attacks proved to be at equal power, for soon, they ended up exploding in midair. Spike shielded her eyes from the explosion, but when the dust cleared, she saw that Lilith has completely disappeared.

"_Where'd she go?!"_ Spike questioned.

"Spike!"

Spike turned and saw Shino, mounted on Blizzard's back.

"Spike! Above you!" the Scythe Meister cried as he pointed up to the sky. The werewolf-witch looked up and saw, to her surprise, that Lilith is now flying around in the air.

"_That's right,"_ Spike said in irritation. _"She's a dragon, now! Of course she can fly! Now what?!"_

"I'm thinking," Shino said, also irritable. That's when he spotted something on Lilith's underbelly: a hideous scar that looked like it had not fully healed yet.

"Hey," Shino said. "Isn't that the wound we left on Lilith earlier?"

"_Yeah, when we hit her with the Howling Slicer!"_ Spike said before she smirked. _"I think we just found her weak spot!"_

"Blizzard!" Shino called. "You think you can find a way to get her back down here?"

Blizzard looked up at Lilith before glanced at a nearby palm tree. The wolf-dog smirked before he turned to Spike.

"_I'm gonna need your help, Spike!"_ Blizzard said.

"_Just tell me what to do,"_ Spike said.

Blizzard whispered into Spike's ear, and apparently, she seemed to like the idea, for she snickered.

"What are you two talking about?" Shino asked.

"_You'll see,"_ Spike before she followed Blizzard, who is still carrying Shino, to a nearby palm tree.

Blizzard climbed onto the trunk of the palm tree.

"Wait, what are you guys planning?!" Shino asked.

"_Just enjoy the flight, Shino!"_ Spike said before she started utter some more magic words. _"Wolf, howl, wolf, wolf, howl, howl, wolf! WOLF TAIL HANDS!"_

Just then, Spike's tails formed into two giant hands, which grabbed the palm tree and began to pull it back to the point where it nearly touched the ground. At that moment, Shino finally understood what was about to happen.

"W-wait a minute, Spike!" Shino cried. "Can't you at least let me get off, first?!"

"_Sorry, bud,"_ Spike said. _"Ready, Blizzard?"_

"_Do it!"_ Blizzard shouted.

**WHOOSH!** Spike let go of the palm tree, catapulting Blizzard and Shino towards Lilith, who only laughed.

"_Now what?"_ she questioned. _"A suicide run?! At this rate, you're only feeding your own souls to me!"_

_That's what you think,_ Blizzard thought before he hardened his fangs with his Haki. He clicked his jaws together, causing them to ignite into flames from the friction.

_FANG OF THE HELLHOUND!_ the wolf-dog shouted, mentally.

**GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWRR!** Lilith roared as she opened her mouth wide, preparing to devour Shino and Blizzard whole, but then, **CHOMP!** Blizzard bit one of Lilith's wings clean off her back!

"_What?!"_ Lilith questioned. _"NO!"_

"Going down," Shino said with a smirk.

**KRASH!** Unable to keep herself airborne with only one wing, Lilith crash-landed on the beach with Spike just narrowly avoiding getting crushed by the she-dragon's weight.

"_Yikes!"_ she yelped as she ran out of the way, and no sooner had she done so that Blizzard landed behind her.

"_All right, she's down,"_ Blizzard said.

"_Thanks,"_ Spike said. _"This might make finishing her off a little easier."_

"Spike, how is Lilith's soul looking?" Shino asked.

"_It's still a Kishin egg,"_ Spike said. _"We still have a shot at this!"_

Lilith writhed around in the sand, roaring in pain as blood spilled from the stub that was once her wing. She then got to her feet and turned to look at Shino, Spike, and Blizzard, growling viciously.

"_You damn, detestable brats!"_ she roared. _"I'LL DEVOUR EVERY LAST ONE OF YOUR SOULS!"_

"Just try it, bitch!" Shino spat before he held out his hand and grabbed Spike's back, causing her to glow purple until she morphed into her scythe form.

"Blizzard!" he ordered. "CHARGE!"

Blizzard growled before he began to make a beeline for Lilith.

"Spike! Let's do it!"

"_Right!"_ Spike shouted.

"LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!"

Soon, Shino's and Spike's souls began to connect, and they roared as they felt their power rising. Spike's blade soon changed into a wolf-like shape as Blizzard drew closer to Lilith, who cackled.

"_That little attack, again?!"_ Lilith questioned. _"You're not going to try and get me with that! I'll fry you all before that happens!"_

"_Shino, remember! We've only got one shot at this!"_ Spike shouted.

"I know!" Shino exclaimed.

**FWOOSH!** Lilith breathed a stream of fire at Blizzard, who jumped out of the way in just the nick of time.

"_What?!"_ Lilith questioned. _"Impossible!"_

"It's over, Lilith," Shino said. "Your soul is mine! HOWLING SLICER!"

**SLASH!** Shino brought Spike's blade on Lilith's scar, causing her to roar in pain before she began to twist away into oblivion, leaving nothing behind but her soul.

_Finally,_ Blizzard thought. _She was harder to beat than that dragon on Punk Hazard!_

As Lilith's soul floated down towards the ground, a purple tail suddenly reached out and grabbed it. Spike, in her wolf form, grinned toothily as a sliver of drool formed on her lips before she opened her mouth and swallowed the soul.

"Another one bites the dust," Shino said.

"_You got that right,"_ Spike agreed. _"But next time, don't try and break your leg."_

"You saying I did that on purpose?" Shino questioned.

"_No,"_ Spike said, _"but still, don't make a habit of getting yourself seriously hurt."_

Shino simply chuckled.

"Fine," he said. "Whatever you say."

"_Oh, and thank you, Blizzard, for your help,"_ Spike said.

"Yeah," Shino agreed as he scratched the wolf-dog's side. "We couldn't have done it without you."

**SLURP!** Blizzard gave Shino a big old doggy kiss to the face, causing him to laugh.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Shino as he wiped of the excess slobber.

"_Hey, Blizzard,"_ Spike called. _"Care to join me in a victory howl?"_

Blizzard simply smirked and said, _"I'd be delighted."_

_**AWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!**_ Spike arched her head to the sky and began to howl, and Blizzard soon followed. Even Shino found himself howling along.

With Lilith finally destroyed, the three headed back for the _Sunny_, their spirits high with triumph.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sanji has chased Judith all the way into the forest.

"Come back here!" Sanji shouted. "You can't run from me, forever!"

"Quite true," Judith agreed, mockingly before he braked to a halt, turned to face Sanji, and before the cook could react, **THWAK!** He landed a hard kick right to his jaw. Sanji was taken back by the blow, but he managed to catch himself on the rebound and land on his hands.

"Take this!" Sanji shouted before he swung both legs at Judith, striking him right in his ribs.

**KOFF!** Judith coughed up a bit of blood before he turned and elbowed Sanji right in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground, clutching the offending area in pain. As Sanji looked up, he saw Judith attempted to smash his face in with the sole of his boot.

"Whoa!" Sanji cried as he rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet.

"FLANCHET!" he shouted before he jumped up and kicked Judith right in his stomach. "EPAULE! SELLE! POITRINE! GIGOT!"

**THWAK! WHAK! BAM! BAP!** Sanji landed a series of powerful kicks to Judith's shoulder, lower back, chest, and legs.

As Judith tried to stand to his feet, Sanji stood up on his hands, his feet aimed right for his opponent's chin.

"And now…BOUQUETIERE SHOT!"

**THWAM!** Sanji landed both barrels in Judith's chin. Judith staggered for a moment, but when he caught himself on a boulder, he smirked as he reached into his shirt and pulled out a knife.

"Think fast, pretty boy!" Judith shouted before he threw the knife at Sanji, who ducked down to evade it. **SHUNK! FSSSSSSH!** The knife landed in the trunk of a tree, but as it did, the wood began to dissolve.

"What the hell?!" Sanji questioned.

"Surprised?" Judith asked. "Inside the handle of each knife I carry…is a lethal poison. One hit, and you'll be dead within 30 minutes…unless I end up stabbing you in your heart. Then you'll be dead in an instant." He chuckled sinisterly as he held up another knife.

"Grr…using a poison is a coward's trick!" Sanji shouted.

"Coward, eh?" Judith asked. "We'll see about that. _En garde!_"

Sanji charged at Judith, preparing to deliver some devastating kicks at him, but Judith pulled out several more poison knives, which he threw at the cook.

"Whoa!" Sanji yelped as he dodged the knives, which landed on the grass and caused it to melt.

"What's wrong?" Judith asked. "Where's all the confidence you had, earlier?"

**WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH!** Judith threw more knives at Sanji, who dodged the blades by running away.

_Dammit, this isn't good!_ Sanji thought. _If I try to get close, I could get hit with those poisoned knives!_

Judith laughed as he kept throwing knives at Sanji, who continued to try and dodge, but then…

"Pumpkin-pumpkin-pumpkin…"

"Huh?" Judith muttered.

"HALLOWEEN CANNON!"

**BOOM!** A huge beam in the shape of a jack-o-lantern seemed to come from nowhere and hit Judith, sending him several feet away.

"What was that?!" Sanji questioned.

"Sanji~!"

Sanji looked up and saw, to his surprise, that it is none other than Blair (in human form), sitting on a floating jack-o-lantern.

"Blair!" Sanji shouted. "What are you doing here?!"

"I came to take you back to the ship!" Blair replied. "Nami says we have to go! There's a monsoon coming!"

"What?!" Sanji questioned. "How soon?!"

"It's coming in pretty fast," Blair said. "We've only got 20 minutes until it gets here!"

"All right! I'm coming!" Sanji said.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Sanji turned around, but when he did, **SHUNK!** A knife suddenly hit him in the shoulder.

"AGH!" the cook cried as he wrenched the knife out of his shoulder before looking up to see Judith, twirling another knife in his hand.

"Well, well," said the so-called "gentleman". "Looks like someone's going to be dying, soon."

Sanji fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder.

"Hey!" Blair snapped. "You bully! You hurt Sanji! You're gonna pay for that!"

"Oh, am I now?" asked Judith. Before Blair realized it, she found him crouching right next to her, his fingers dancing playfully on her chin.

"Huh?!" Blair muttered. "W-what are you-"

"You don't really need this," said Judith. "Your little friends are nothing but a bunch of foolish weaklings…but you, my dear…you look like a rather strong girl."

"Really?" Blair asked.

"Why don't you join the winning side?" Judith asked, a charming smile on his face. "You deserve much better than this."

"No, Blair!" Sanji cried. "Don't listen to him!"

"Blair…please, join us," said Judith. "We can make you more powerful than you could ever dream of! Just please…say yes."

Sanji stared up at Blair and Judith, horrified at the thought of Blair joining the Bluebeard Pirates, but then, **SWAK!** Blair swiped her claws at Judith, who fell off of her jack-o-lantern.

"Sorry," Blair apologized, angrily, "but…NO DEAL!"

Sanji seemed surprised at first, but then he smiled at the cat woman, who smiled back.

"Why would I ever wanna leave a cutie like you?" Blair asked.

Judith stood to his feet and growled.

"So, you won't go anywhere without him, eh?" he questioned as he pulled out another knife. "In that case…SAY GOODBYE!"

**WHOOSH!** Judith threw the knife at Sanji, who gasped when he saw the poison blade being sent straight at him, but then, out of nowhere, a purplish-black blur appeared in front of the blonde-haired cook. To Sanji's horror, it is none other than Blair, the blade of the knife plunged deep into her chest…right in her heart.

Sanji gasped when he saw Blair drop to the ground like a heap of crumpled up rags.

"B…Blair?" Sanji asked, his eyes teary as he reached over to touch her, but then her body swirled away into nothingness, leaving only a purple floating ball.

Sanji's eyes went wide as the ugly truth dawned on him: Blair…is dead.

Judith only cackled at this.

"Stupid bitch," he said. "She went and chose her own demise."

Suddenly, **POW!** Faster than lightning, Sanji appeared right in front of Judith and kicked him right in the jaw, causing him to stagger backwards, not only in pain, but in surprise from the blow. As Judith looked up at Sanji, he saw….that the cook's whole body had burst into flames…and he looked very…pissed…off.

"You fucking bastard," Sanji cursed. "How dare you take Blair's life! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR GUTS OUT AND SERVE THEM TO OUR DOG ON A SILVER PLATTER FOR THIS!"

Judith only continue stare, this time out of horror, before Sanji lunged at him.

"Hell…MEMORIES~!"

**BAM!** Sanji landed a furious kick to Judith's side, causing his whole body to ignite into flames. **FWUMP!** Judith fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain as he tried in vain to put out the fire, but his efforts are in vain, for soon, he fell silent, and his body became still until the flames went out, leaving nothing behind but a charred corpse…which soon met the same fate as Blair. The only thing that remained is a bright red soul.

**FWOOO~!** Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke.

"Blair…did you see me?" he asked. "I've avenged you."

Just then, Sanji felt something brushing up against his leg, followed by a soft purring sound. He looked down and saw none other than Blair, in her cat form!

"BLAIR!" Sanji cried as he scooped her up and began to cuddle her. "YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!"

"Of course I'm okay, silly!" Blair said with a wink. "Don't you know cats only have nine lives? I'm only down to seven, now. But still, thanks for avenging me, Sanji! You're my hero!"

**Smooch!** Blair kissed Sanji right on his cheek, causing hearts to form in his eyes, but then, he fell to his knees, again.

"Sanji!" Blair cried. "What's wrong?!"

"The poison…" Sanji muttered. "It's starting to take effect on me. We better get back to the ship so that Chopper can treat me."

"Right!" Blair said. "We can ride on my pumpkin, and you can rest in my lap the whole way!"

"Oh, Blair…" Sanji muttered with a smile. "You're so kindhearted."

Blair smiled back at Sanji, pulling him into a gentle hug.

And so, Sanji and Blair rode a jack-o-lantern all the way back to the _Sunny_, the former taking a short but enjoyable rest in the latter's lap.

XXX

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Luffy, Soul, Maka, Crona, and Ragnarok watched as Bluebeard's ship sailed away from Dragon Fang Peak, and not too far away from the galleon, they can see a mass of storm clouds approaching.

"Dammit," Maka cursed. "I was hoping we'd try and stop him before he gets to his ship."

"Looks like we gotta go all the way back to the _Sunny_," said Soul.

"No way," Luffy said. "We're not letting that bastard get away from us."

"But Luffy," Maka said. "His ship is getting farther away."

"Yeah!" Ragnarok said. "And even if I turn into my Black Dragon form, I can't fly far enough to get us there!"

"Then leave it to me," Luffy said.

"What do you mean?" Soul asked.

"What are you gonna do, Luffy?" Crona asked.

"Just watch," Luffy said. "Gum GUUUUUUUUUUUM…MOORING LINE!"

**WROING! WHAP!** Luffy stretched his arms out as far as they could go until they grabbed the aft railing of Bluebeard's galleon.

"Okay!" Luffy said. "Everyone, grab on and hold on tight to me!"

"I don't think I like where this is going," Maka said, nervously.

"Me, neither," said Soul before he, Maka, and Crona grabbed onto Luffy.

"Ready?" Luffy asked. "We're about to go flying!"

"Uh…can we talk about this first?" Crona asked.

"GUM GUUUUUUUUUUUUUM…ROCKET!"

**WHOOOOOSH!** Luffy jumped off the cliff and sent himself flying towards Bluebeard's ship, taking a screaming Maka, Soul, and Crona with him.

"WHOO-HOO~!" Ragnarok cheered. "YEAH~!"

"LUFFY~! I THINK I'M GONNA THROW UP~!" Crona cried.

"NOT ON ME, YOU'RE NOT!" Luffy shouted.

But meanwhile, inside the captain's cabin of Bluebeard's ship, Bluebeard himself is sitting at his desk, but for some reason, his expression seemed grim. He reached over and picked up a framed picture of himself and his crew.

"…Brokko…Naomi…Reggie…Turu…Judith…and my precious Lilith," he muttered. "You're all gone. Your souls have completely disappeared…and I'm the only one left."

**KRIK!** Bluebeard squeezed the frame so had, he cause the glass to crack.

"Straw Hat and his little friends will suffer for this," Bluebeard said. "I swear…I shall have my revenge!"

Suddenly, something began to bulge out Bluebeard's back until it ripped through his coat. It is revealed to be a pair of two bat-like wings. Bluebeard snickered as his eyes started to glow red, and then that snicker became a loud cackle.

XXX

Outside on the ship's deck, Luffy, Soul, Maka, and Ragnarok had landed…rather painfully.

"Okay," Maka said as she got to her feet. "We're on the ship. Bluebeard's gotta be here, somewhere."

"So what, we're gonna search this whole ship?" asked Soul.

"We don't have to," Crona answered before he pointed to one of the doors…Bluebeard's door. "He's in there."

"Right," Maka said before she grabbed Soul's hand, causing him to turn into his scythe form.

Crona held out his hand, causing Ragnarok, in his sword form, to appear in his hand.

"Hey, Bluebeard!" Luffy shouted. "Get your stupid ass out here so we can kick it!"

A pause came, but then…**BOOM!** The entire cabin exploded, forcing, Maka, Crona, and Luffy to shield their eyes. When the dust settled, they saw, to their complete shock, that a giant beast had appeared. It look like some sort of dragon-like creature with three, yes, THREE glowing red eyes- one smack in the middle of its forehead, a spiky club at the end of its tail, a mouth full of sharp fangs, dark brown scales all over its body, a giant pair of wings on its back, and for some reason, it has a blue braided beard under its chin.

"_Since when did Bluebeard have a pet dragon?!"_ Soul questioned.

"No," Crona said. "Bluebeard…IS the dragon!"

**GRROOOOOOOOONK!** The dragon, revealed to be Bluebeard himself, lifted his head and roared to the heavens before he looked down at the group of heroes.

"SO COOL~!" Luffy shouted, eyes twinkling.

"Maka CHOP!"

**BAM!** Maka slammed the spine of her book into the back of Luffy's head, making him yell in pain.

"Luffy, this is anything but cool!" Maka said.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"Bluebeard must've entered the mutation stage," Maka explained. "No wonder it feels like his Soul Wavelength is changing. We need to collect his soul, now, before he turns into a full Kishin!"

Bluebeard laughed as he licked his chops with his forked tongue.

"_You're going to try and stop me, now?"_ he asked. _"Fools. You're only running headlong into death!"_

"_So you turned into a monster, now,"_ said Soul. _"So what?"_

"_Yeah!"_ Ragnarok said. _"It doesn't mean you're any different from any other pre-Kishin! We're still gonna beat you and we're still gonna eat your soul!"_

"_You humor me,"_ Bluebeard said. _"You're not scared at all by my grotesque appearance, or the fact that I'll probably kill you all?"_

"Oh, we're afraid to die…" Maka noted.

"But it doesn't mean we can't find the courage to fight, in spite of our fear," Crona added.

"So get ready, Bluebeard," Luffy said as he pounded a fist into his palm, "because we're gonna kick your ass."

Bluebeard snickered at Luffy, the two Meisters, and their weapons.

"_Very well,"_ he hissed. _"LET US BEGIN!"_

And with those words…the final battle has begun.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

Sou

Sorry if Sanji's fight seemed short.

Review, please!


	10. The Final Battle Ensues

This chapter was writting by yellowpikmin88 from Deviantart. Please credit him, too.

* * *

Soul EaterXOne Piece Collab Special! Ch. 10- The final battle ensues: a pirate becomes a meister?

Luffy, Maka and Crona readied their weapons/fists as they stared down Bluebeard who hissed at them in his new winged reptilian form.

"Well here we go then." Crona said flatly before bringing Ragnarok to his wrist. **Skish!** He sliced the blade along his skin causing black blood to spray from the wound.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luffy shouted in shock at friend's 'suicide attempt'.

"It's obvious isn't it, Straw-hat?!" Bluebeard laughed. "He knows he can't win so the coward took the easy way out and killed himself!"

"Bloody slicer!" Crona said before swinging his wrist like he was throwing a Frisbee. **Swish!** A crescent black blade with Ragnarok's eye emerged from the wound and flew at Bluebeard, taking him by surprise as he ducked it.

"HAA!" **SHUNK!** Maka took this opportunity to stab Soul into Bluebeard's side while he was distracted. The dragon-man roared in pain from the attack before roughly kicking the scythe meister away, the blade pulling out of his side in the process.

"GUM GUM PISTOL!" **POW!** Luffy, soon followed the distraction strategy by connecting his haki-coated fist with the wound Maka had made resulting in the Bluebeard crying out again. **SPURT!** The wound squirted blood as the dragon-man coughed from the attack.

"DAMN YOU!" **SWISH!** He swiped his claws at Luffy who leapt away giving Crona a chance to get behind the man. "

"**BEEYAAAAAAAHHH!**" Ragnarok's blade vibrated rapidly like a chainsaw before the demon swordsman plunged it into Bluebeard's back, leaving a huge gash, followed by Maka attacking him again in his damaged spot, and Luffy slamming his iron head against Bluebeard's with a gum-gum bell.

"YOU LITTLE SHITS!" Bluebeard roared before throwing his arms and wings out in fury, sending the trio a few feet away. "You think you can beat me with tiny punches and those little toothpicks you call weapons?!"

"_Strong enough to kill that little mute bitch!_" Ragnarok said. "_Cleaved her whole top half off. HAHAHA! You should have seen her running all around like a headless chicken!_"

"SHUT UP!" **FWOOSH!** Bluebeard then sprayed a cloud of fire at Crona who, thinking fast, conjured up a shield of black blood to block the flames. "NEVER SPEAK OF MY CREW THAT WAY!"

"_Well yelling ain't gonna bring 'em back, bastard! So how 'bout you just let us kill you so you can go join them in hell?! Those hot coals aren't gonna walk on themselves!_" Soul said mockingly, resulting in Bluebeard swiping at him and Maka again.

"GUM GUM BAZOOKA!" **BAM!** Luffy's palms smashed into Bluebeard's back and sent him crashing against the wall of the ship. **CRASH!** "We've got him on the ropes, guys! Don't give him any chances! KEEP GOING!" Luffy shouted as the three friends charged at Bluebeard once again.

"ENOUGH!" **THWAP!** The captain slammed his long tail into the trio sending them flying back and hitting the side of the ship. **WHAM!**

"Okay that was stupid." Luffy admitted. "Guess we got a bit overconfident."

"Yeah, right." Maka muttered as they stood back up. "Guess we'll take it up a notch."

"I'm on it Maka." Soul said.

"**LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!**" The scythe meister's wavelength began to expand as their power rose before Soul's blade began to change into some sort of halberd or large pointed boomerang shape. What's more the blade became crystal clear and engulfed in a blue aura, Soul's eye now much bigger with an intricate pattern surrounding it. But not only that, a black substance began to materialize around Maka's body before forming into a dress.

"WHOA! SO COOL~!" Luffy beamed. "What is that stuff?!"

"Black blood." Crona stated.

"What? I thought you had black blood."

"I do. Look, Luffy. There's something you should know about me. You know how I told you Maka made me who I am? Well I never used to be like this. Back when I was Medusa's puppet, I was insane, violent, scary and above all…always scared of everything…and everyone. I didn't know how to deal with life altogether and didn't have a friend in the world. But it was when I met Maka that everything began to change. Of course we got into a fight…and I almost killed her." Luffy's eyes widened as he heard this. "But Soul took the hit and I split his chest open. In fact, his scar's the exact same as Zoro's." The memory of Mihawk slicing Zoro flashed in Luffy's mind's eye. "Because Ragnarok's made of my blood, some of it got into Soul's bloodstream. Because of this, when Maka and Soul resonate the black blood gives them strength. Like me, Maka can create a shield with it, in the form of that dress."

"So how did she make you a good guy then?"

"In our second fight, she matched her level of madness with mine and was able to enter my soul. That's where she found me…the real me, who I thought no longer existed. We were both young children when we met inside my soul." He chuckled a little at the cute memory of a six or seven year old Maka smiling at him.

"_Heloooooooo~!_" he remembered her saying teasingly when he first saw her, and then her rubbing out his circle in the sand and setting him free.

"When that happened I broke down completely. I'd never felt anything like it before and didn't know what to do. But she hugged me, and told me she understood why I was always so scared and sad and not able to deal with other people: It's because no one ever took the time to deal with me. The rest is history. She became my first and closest friend after that. That's why I owe her my life: because she gave it to me. And I guess….that's why I….lo….lo…love her." Luffy stared at his friend for a few long moments before he smiled warmly at him

"I knew it all along. In that case, how 'bout you tell her after all this is over?"

"I think I can deal with that." Crona smiled back.

"GENIE HUNTER!" Maka roared as she swung her scythe at Bluebeard. The latter held his claws out before they began to extend into long black blades which he used to block the attack. The two remained locked in combat until with a burst of strength, Maka managed to break through the blades. **SLASH!** She sliced a huge gash across Bluebeard's torso, knocking him back in the process. **FWOOSH!** But as he was sent back, the dragon-man shot a burst of fire at Maka, hitting her square in the chest and causing her to cry out from the burn.

"MAKA!" Luffy and Crona said.

"Dammit! I forgot about his fire." Maka hissed as she tried to pick herself up, but gasped as a large foot stepped on her back, holding her down.

"I don't think so, you little brat." Bluebeard snarled.

"MAKA HOLD ON!" Bluebeard turned his head to see Luffy and Crona charging at him.

"Nice try." He said before. **WHAM!** He slammed one of his large fists into the mast of the ship causing it to come crashing towards Luffy and Crona. **KRESH!** The mast landed on the two of them trapping them beneath it. Of course due to Luffy being rubber and Crona hardening his blood, their bones weren't obliterated by the large hunk of wood, but they still remained trapped by the heavy mast on top of them.

"GUYS!" Maka cried.

"And now I think I'll kill you. But first." Bluebeard then grabbed hold of Soul.

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!_" the scythe roared.

"Making sure you don't get in my way." Bluebeard sneered before he tossed the weapon overboard. **SPLASH!**

"SOUL!"

"Now you're turn. I think I'll take it slow." Bluebeard grinned before raising his spiky, clubbed tail above her leg.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Crona shouted in anger.

"Hmm-hmm watch me." Bluebeard said sinisterly before, he brought the end of his tail down upon poor Maka's leg. **BAM! KRRRACCK!**

"AAAAAAAUUUGHHH~!" she screamed in agony which made Luffy and Crona's hearts stop, and their blood run cold. Maka wept from the bone in her leg being snapped clean in two, as well as the spikes piercing the flesh of her calve and thigh.

"Go on. Scream again." Bluebeared sneered beofre lifitng his tail. **BAM!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGH!" Maka cried louder as the spikes hit her again breaking her leg even worse as more blood drew from it. Bluebeard cackled at the young woman's suffering before he reached down and began crushing her ribs with his clawed hand. The memory of Asura doing the same thing eight months ago loomed in Maka's memeory, making her scream even louder.

"LET HER GO YOU MONSTER~!" Crona screeched, tears of anger streaming from his eyes as he watched his crush being mercilessley mauled.

"No. I'll just make you watch." Bluebeard said before lifting Maka off the ground and holding her head in one hand and her torso in the other, revealing her neck. The scythe meister tried to lift her arms to attempt to strangle or punch Bluebeard, but he only laughed. "You fought well." he said before moving his mouth dangerously close to her throat. "But in the end, you're just a helpless…little…girl." He emphasised the last word with disgust before opening his maw filled with rows of fangs.

"NOOOO!" Crona and Luffy screamed until…**SHUNK!** A red and black blade stabbed the wound in Bluebeard's side causing him to drop Maka before he could tear out her throat. It is revealed to be none other than Soul standing in front of him, his arm morphed into a blade, which he'd used to climb back onto the galleon.

"Never. Touch. My. Meister." He growled.

"Soul…" Maka groaned. Bluebeard grinned, seemingly forgetting the blade in his side.

"Fine. I'll kill you fir-"

"SCREECH SIGMA~!" **SLASH!** A swirling black and purple cloud slammed into the dragon-man, biting him hard in the side and sending him smashing through the wall of the ship's quarters. Luffy had finally managed to pull his arms out from under the mast and push it off him and Crona.

"Crona!" Soul said to the latter. "Take Maka and get out of here!"

"WHAT?!" Maka shouted. "But Soul I can-"

"Don't even try! You're leg's all mangled and your ribs are cracked too. There's no way you can fight now. I'm your partner remember? It's my job to protect you. And right now the only way to do that is get you to safety. And the only way to do THAT is to leave you with someone who'll go just as far as me to protect you….Maybe even further." He said as he smiled at Crona, who smiled back after a few seconds.

"Okay. I'll get her to safety and then come back to help you."

"But Soul can't fight without a meister." Maka argued.

"I don't intend to." Soul said, before eying Luffy.

"What do you mea-?"

"Okay no more talking!" Ragnarok said emerging from Crona in his black dragon form. "Just hurry up, Crona and grab your little girlfriend so we can get it over with and get back to fighting this jackass!" both Maka and Crona blushed heavily at the mention of 'girlfriend' before Crona shook his head and gathered Maka into his arms, bridal style, and taking off from the ship, just as Bluebeard had pulled himself out of the rubble.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY!" He roared as he tried to take off after them. **WROING!** A pair of rubber arms ensnared the dragon-man, preventing him from flying off, before he noticed Luffy holding him back.

"You're not going anywhere." He grinned before swinging Bluebeard back onto the deck with a **WHAM!** "Now get up and fight us!"

"Luffy?" Soul then spoke up.

"What is it?"

"I think I have an idea on how to beat this guy."

XXX

Crona continued to drift through the air, carrying Maka in his arms, which for as skinny as they were, seemed surprisingly strong, since Maka couldn't help but feel completely safe as he held her.

"Hey look!" she then pointed to a shape approaching them.

"SUNNY!" the two of them said as they drew closer to the ship, and they could see the rest of the crew gathered on deck.

"CRONA! MAKA!" Nami called as they landed and Crona gently laid Maka on the deck. "What are you doing here? Where're Luffy and Soul?!"

"They're still fighting Bluebeard but…" Crona voice trailed off as he saw a familiar face. "Black Star?"

"In the flesh, buddy." The assassin grinned as Maka and Crona stared at him, but he was caught off guard when the latter hugged him.

"We thought you were dead!"

"Come on use your head, Pinky. It takes more than a cliff to make a big star like me fall." Black Star grinned as he returned the hug. "Aren't you gonna get over here too, Maka? You're usually the first to run up and hug someone when you're happy to see them."

"I would, but not before chopping you first for scaring me like that." Maka grinned. "But then I can't exactly get up with a smashed leg and a few cracked ribs."

"What do you mean, Maka?!" Tsubaki asked.

"Bluebeard got a hold of her and hurt her. Luffy and I were trapped under the mast of his ship and he threw Soul overboard. We were lucky that Soul managed to get back onto the ship in time and stop him from ripping out Maka's throat. He then told me to get her to safety while he and Luffy held Bluebeard off."

"I'm sorry." Maka apologised shamefully. "I screwed everything up."

"Maka you didn't-" Spike tried to speak.

"YES I DID! If I hadn't been so reckless I wouldn't have got hurt. How's Soul gonna fight without me. What if he gets hurt again?! Every time I screw up, someone I hold dear gets hurt: Soul, Black Star, Crona. I'm…wea-" Crona embraced Maka in a tight hug before she could say the last word.

"Stop it. Don't you dare say another negative thing about yourself" Maka's eyes widened at the mention of the words she said to Crona when he tried to run away after being forced to betray his friends. "Just because other people put themselves before you doesn't make you weak. It's cause they care about you because you're so kind and understanding and accepting of anyone you want to care about. And if those people get hurt protecting you, you take full responsibility for everything and then…you end up getting hurt yourself, and in turn you hurt the people who care about you. So please…don't say bad things about yourself. You're hurting the woman I care about." Maka gasped as her green eyes met his grey ones before they began to water.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed hugging him again. Crona smiled as he returned her hug, nestling her head against his pink hair.

"Take care of her, Chopper. I'm counting on you." He then said.

"I'll have her fixed in a jiffy, Crona." the reindeer smiled.

"I believe in you." Crona said. "I need to get back to Luffy and Soul."

"You'll need to hurry, Crona. A monsoon's on its way. The sea's gonna get really rough in ten minutes."

"Right. I won't be long. But you should probably follow me so you can pick us up."

"Crona. Please, don't go back there." Maka said grabbing his robe. "I can't lose you again!"

"You won't." Crona smiled placing his hand on her cheek. "I've always had faith in you, Maka. But this time you need to have faith in me. And don't worry; I'll have Luffy and Soul with me, plus you really did a number on him." "_Come on, Crona, you can deal with this. Be brave, be brave._" His inner voice said before he gently leaned in and quickly kissed Maka on the lips, causing both of them to blush heavily. Nami's face split into a wide open smile and she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't squeal at what she'd just seen. "I'll never leave you." Crona said before taking off from the Sunny. Maka reached as he flew away, before touching her lips, her cheeks stained pink.

"Still think you're just friends~?" Nami said teasingly as she knelt beside Maka. The scythe meister only smiled. "I didn't think so."

XXX

After Crona had flown off with Maka, Soul explained to Luffy what his plan was.

"How are you saying we beat this guy?" Luffy asked as he and Soul dodged Bluebeard's attacks.

"When we met back in the bar a few days ago, when Maka read your souls, yours was on the same level as hers."

"The same level?"

"Yes. It means that your wavelength is almost identical to Maka's, and that means you may be able to wield me."

"You mean use you in battle?! But I'm not a meister! And I can barely handle a sword, let alone a scythe!"

"You don't need experience with a demon weapon in order to wield it. As long as you can match your wavelength with the weapon you can wield any of them. Our teacher, Professor Stein is an example. He can bend his soul and wavelength to any compatible form. Since your wavelength's compatible to mine, you'll be able to wield me like a professional. Like you've wielded a scythe all your life."

"Are you serious?!"

"Do I sound like I'm not?!"

"No."

"Then let's do this!" Soul grinned before morphing into his weapon form. "_Okay, pick me up._" Luffy looked at the weapon before he reached down and touched it. Instantly on contact, he felt a surge of power flow through which made him jump. And then, almost on instinct, his fingers clenched around the scythe as he lifted it up with ease as though it were a stick. "_Perfect. The fact you can lift me show's your compatible. Black Star once tried to use me and couldn't even lift me an inch._"

"But Black Star's just as muscular as Zoro." Luffy said in shock.

"_Exactly, which shows I'm right. Now let's try soul resonance. It's when we match our wavelength so they're in synch and unlock more power._"

"How do I do that?"

"_You have to relax and be of one mind. Envision our souls merging into one, and concentrate._"

"…Okay, let's try it."

"_Right. One…Two…Three!_"

"**LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!**" they both shouted, before in their subconscious their souls sparked and began to connect. "**HAAAAAAAAAA~!**" Luffy's eyes widened and his body tensed with unimaginable strength.

"THE POWER!" he roared, until he suddenly gasped and everything went black.

XXX

"…Where am I…?" Luffy found himself standing in a dark void, the blackness almost swallowing him. "Soul?!" but he heard no reply, until he heard a rather smug chuckle.

"Hm-Hm-Hm. Well this is new." It said.

"Who's there?! Show yourself Bluebeard!"

"Oh I'm not your enemy. At least I hope I'm not." The voice said.

"Then who are you?! Put some damn lights on. I can't see a thing!"

"Oh testy aren't we. You're in quite a hurry to get back to the fight."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Very well. It is about time we make acquaintances." With that several lamps lit up, illuminating the room Luffy now found himself in. A piano, some black drapes, a floor with black-and-red checker tiles, and a phonograph playing smooth jazz music is all he can see before him. However, the record appears to be skipping, causing the music to repeat itself at certain points. Plus Luffy soon noticed he was dressed in a black suit over a long sleeved red shirt and black tie, as well as a long pair of black trousers (A.N. - the outfit he wore in Strong World, but without the Captain's coat). The Straw-Hat captain looked around the room.

"Where are you?"

"I'm right here." The voice said quickly, causing Luffy to wheel round and his eyes widened.

"What the…" Sitting on a nearby table, was a small creature, no bigger than Chopper and appeared to be male. He had blood red skin, a large nose and pointed ears. A pair of right-angled horns protruded from his head, a mouthful of sharp teeth and bulbous eyes framed by a pair of connected black circles making it look like some sort of thief mask. He wore a simple double-breasted black suit with white buttons and lastly he had very long, gangly arms which reached his feet, complete with a pair of big hands with black fingernails. His overall image was that of a common devil or demon. His right leg was crossed over his left knee and his arms lay crossed over his right leg.

"Hello, Luffy." he greeted him politely with a wide grin.

"Wha…who are you? _What_ are you? How do you know my name?" Luffy asked, completely puzzled.

"What am I? Well I'm a simple inner demon that everybody has. Now who am I? There's a tricky question to put into words. I guess you could say I'm Soul, but then I'm not."

"Huh? You're Soul."

"Partly. Remember Crona told you about how Maka can use black blood because Soul's body contains traces of it? I am the result of the black blood that courses through his veins. I'm a part of his conscious and he is a part of mine. The two of us are partners you see; the kind that can never be separated even if you bled him dry and refilled him again. Two minds in single body. That's why you're half right; I am Soul but at the same time, I'm not. It's complicated I know, I hope I'm not confusing you." Luffy stared at the little demon before pounding his fist into his palm.

"Oh! So you're a mystery demon!"

"I…yes I guess you could say I am." He said. "_Yep. I have confused him._" He then thought.

"So then what do you do exactly?" Luffy asked.

"I supply Maka and Soul with power because when the black blood is activated in resonance, that's when I come out to play and sometimes I get to play with the rest of his little gang during chain resonance, which is when two meister and weapon pairs resonate together."

"Don't you think you've confused him enough, dude?" the two turned to see none other than Soul standing in the doorway, dressed in a pin-striped black suit with a red dress shirt, black tie, and matching black shoes. His hair wasn't in his headband though.

"Soul!" Luffy said. "What is this?! Where are we?!"

"Inside my soul." Soul stated. "I'm sure Little Demon's already told you about himself. See I forgot to mention that. See before, this guy used to try and push me and Maka into the madness using the black blood. He almost did once, until Maka neutralised him because of her anti-demon wavelength. Unfortunately you don't have that which is why when you first resonated with me the black blood overpowered you."

"So what does that mean?" Luffy asked. "How do we get out of here? What's going on back outside?! Am I unconscious?! Bluebeard'll kill us!"

"…No you're conscious but…" Soul tried to say.

"I could just show you." Little Demon spoke up before he walked over to a pair of curtains in the room and pulled the cord, causing them to spread open. Luffy gasped at what he saw. He could see himself standing in front of Bluebeard, holding Soul in one hand and he was giggling manically, his usually friendly grin was now so wide and twisted, it took up half of his face from his chin to his eyes which were bugging out of his skull with a glazed look. His hat had fallen off his head and lay on the deck, while his black hair was now a lot wilder.

"What are you laughing at, boy?!" Bluebeard snarled before he swiped at 'Luffy' who ducked and with a strong swing of his scythe, **WHAM!** caught the dragon-man square in the stomach and sent him shooting towards the very end of the galleon. The boy stabbed the head of Soul into the deck and perched on the pole like a monkey, still giggling until he stared to where he'd sent Bluebeard, his hand above his brow.

"_WHOOOOO HE FLEEEEWW~!_" 'Luffy' cooed before he went back to giggling. "_Shishishishishishi~!_"

"What the hell's happened to me?" Luffy said in complete shock.

"It's madness remember?" Little demon said. "It prevents you from feeling anything, especially fear. But it also makes you reckless." At that moment Bluebeard came flying at 'Luffy' and stabbed him in the gut, but his claws barely got more than an inch into his flesh. 'Luffy's' mad grin only widened as he picked up Soul and smacked Bluebeard off him with the weapon as though he were a fly before touching his small wound and smiling drunkenly at the slick black fluid on his palm.

"_Hey it's black~ Like my hair~ So pretty~!_" he slurred.

"If you don't get back to your body. You'll be stuck like that." Soul said nervously.

"Dammit this is bad. We gotta get outta here!" Luffy said.

"Yeah but ho?. This isn't like with Maka. And you don't have an anti-demon wavelength."

"Well there may be a way." Little Demon spoke gaining the men's attention. "You may not have an anti-demon wavelength, but there is something else you have that represents your will. It's the strength of will that helps one overcome madness and learns to control it."

"Okay so what is this thing that represents Luffy's will? If it's not a wavelength, what is it?"

"Well that I don't know. I've never felt this type of power before." But it was then that Luffy suddenly realised what it was they were talking about.

"My haki."

"Your what?" Soul asked.

"Haki. It's a type of power that every living creature in my world has. Though it can only be used when the person awakens it. There are three types, but the third is said to be possessed by only a select group in world. Blizzard and I are two of that group."

"So what you're saying is that third Haki is what represents your will?" Soul asked.

"Yes. It allows me to overpower the wills of others, but I think this time I can use it to overpower the madness."

"That's so crazy-" Soul said.

"-it just, might, work." Little Demon finished with a grin.

XXX

Crona glided through the air as he made his way back to the galleon to aid Luffy and Soul. The Sunny was just behind him.

"Hey there's Bluebeard's ship!" Mark pointed.

"And there's Luffy!" Usopp said. But as the Sunny pulled up near the galleon, the crew noticed something was off with their captain.

"Luffy?" Nami said worriedly as she saw her beloved giggling manically as he swung Soul madly at Bluebeard, who desperately tried to dodge the weapon.

"Is he wielding Soul?!" Spike said in astonishment.

"How is he doing that?!" Shino said.

"But Luffy's not a meister!" Franky said.

"No. But his soul wavelength is compatible with Soul's." Maka said, the scythe meister was heavily bandaged around her stomach and her leg was in a cast. "Everyone has a wavelength, and if it's compatible with a weapon's wavelength, then you're able to wield it. Zoro for example would be able to wield Tsubaki because his and Black Star's wavelengths are similar, due to their strength, ambition, determination and desire to protect their friends." The assassin and swordsman glanced at each other."

"But then why's Luffy acting like that?" Chopper said as he pointed at his captain. Maka looked towards 'Luffy' and gasped at what she saw.

"No."

"Why, what's happening to him?!" Nami said.

"He's fallen under the madness." Crona said as he landed on deck. "He must have resonated with Soul and the black blood must have driven him mad. The person you're looking at isn't Luffy."

"Then where is he?!" Sanji shouted.

"He's trapped inside himself. He'll only be free if he can overcome the madness. But he'll need time to do it. I'll hold off Bluebeard. Black Star, I need you to restrain Luffy with your puppet shadows."

"I'm on it. Tsubaki enchanted sword mode."

"Right." She said before morphing and as Black Star held her, the wavy black markings appeared on his face. A few seconds passed before three of the spindly stickmen appeared on the deck of the galleon.

"Shadow…shadow…~" they slurred and wrapped 'Luffy' up with their arms.

"HEY STOP THAT TICKLES~!" 'Luffy' laughed.

"It seems your friends have turned on you, Straw-hat." Bluebeard sneered. "NOW DIE!" **CLANG!** As he tried to lob 'Luffy's' head off with his claws, they were blocked by Crona who was now standing in front of him.

"_Miss us?_" Ragnarok said mockingly.

"YOU." Bluebeard growled. "You will pay for devouring Naomi!" Crona leapt back from Bluebeard before lifting his sword.

"You shouldn't have hurt Maka. I'll make you regret it…Scream resonance." He said sinisterly.

"**BEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!**" Ragnarok shrieked before Crona brought him down a deadly arch.

"SCREECH ALPHA!" **SLASH!** The black, chomping cloud burst from the sword and shot towards Bluebeard who managed to jump over it. **SKISH!** He managed to slash Crona across the chest, momentarily knocking him back, but the demon swordsman managed to keep his balance, before bending back forward to reveal a smile across his lips.

"Uh-oh, you've made me bleed." He murmured with an undertone of mirth. "Bloody pincushion!" **PIERCE!** Long black spikes burst from Crona's body and stabbed Bluebeard across his front, causing him to roar in pain and breathe a cloud of fire at Crona who dived out of the way. Crona then turned his gaze to 'Luffy' who was still bound giggling. "_Come on, Luffy. We need you back._" He thought.

XXX

Back inside the black room, soul was now sitting at the piano in the middle of the room while Luffy was sitting beside him with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. Little Demon was perched on the table waiting for the show to begin.

"Ready, Luffy? Once I start playing, you tap into that haki thing of yours and try and blend it in with my music. If you can pull that off, it should neutralise the madness and get you back in your body."

"Ready." Luffy replied, before Soul flexed his fingers and began to play the piano. Luffy listened intently as he relaxed his body, before he felt his haki activate and move with the rhythm of Soul's song. As his eyes remained closed, he began to see a light and could hear several voices. The voices of his crew and his new friends calling him.

"_Luffy…Luffy…Luffy…~_"

XXX

He opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the deck, bound by three puppet shadows and just in front of him was Crona, locked in combat with Bluebeard.

"Crona? Wait…Soul we're back!" he said as he saw the scythe lying next to him.

"_Yeah we made it._"

"LUFFY!" the captain turned his head to see the Sunny not too far away from the galleon.

"GUYS!" he cried at the sight of his crew and friends. The puppets then released him before sinking back into the shadows.

"Good to see you got your head back on straight, Luffy!" Zoro grinned.

"You looked like you were on the ultimate sugar rush!" Sanji laughed.

"Sorry about the shadows, buddy. I had to keep you out of trouble 'till you got back!" Black Star snickered. Luffy grinned back before standing up, placing his hat back on his head and retrieving Soul.

"Okay, let's try this again." he said before running at Bluebeard. The dragon-man saw the boy coming before he grabbed the nearby fallen mast.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU BOTH!" He roared. **CRASH!** He smashed the mast against Luffy and Crona sending both young men flying backwards and off the ship.

"CRONA! GET LUFFY! HE CAN'T SWIM!" Nami cried. Crona then sprouted his wings before grabbing Luffy by the waist before he hit the water and lifting him into the air. But it was then that Maka suddenly got an idea.

"Guys, it may not seem like it, but Bluebeard has the upper hand while on his ship. We need to destroy it. Then he'll be forced to go in the air, where Crona'll have the upper hand, he's a much better flyer than Bluebeard.

"Way ahead of you, Maka." Usopp grinned before he ran up to the figure head and lifted the steps to reveal a cockpit within. The, figurehead opened its mouth and a cannon emerged from it. "Target locked!" he declared. "Prepared to fire!"

"GUYS STAY IN THE AIR!" Maka called to Luffy and Crona who nodded.

"HEY BLUEBEARD~!" Black Star yelled. The dragon-man turned to see the Sunny's cannon facing him, a blue orb of light beginning to build within it, before he noticed Black Star, Shino and Kid standing on the figurehead grinning at him. The former was pointing his sword at him in a sideways stance, the blade had grown longer and was coated by a deep red aura and kanji carvings, with a shadow puppet wrapping its arms around the blade creating a distinctive zigzag pattern, though the puppet seemed to have a different head which was more oval shaped with a pair of small eye holes and a curved ponytail that resembled Tsubaki's. It is revealed that it's actually Tsubaki herself who's taken the form of the puppet to assist Black Star. Kid was armed with a pair of gigantic golden death cannons connected by a beam of metal and supported by two large stands in the shape of Lord Death's mask and the young reaper himself had connected all three lines in his hair. Shino had morphed Spike into her scythe form but was pointing the opposite end of the pole where a large purple wolf head had formed and a violet aura was emanating within its maw.

"Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of whoop-ass~! FIRE!" Black Star laughed.

"GAON CANNON! FIRE!" Usopp let out a battle cry as he pulled the leaver.

"SANZU DEATH CANNON!" Kid roared.

"PUPPET THRUST!" Black Star yelled.

"MOON HOWLER!" Shino commanded. **KABLOOOOOW! KABLAAAAAAM! KRRRRRZZZZT! AWOOOOOOOOO!** A barrage of deadly beams of air, wavelength and shadow shot with light sped towards the galleon. Bluebeard gasped in shock before taking off just before the entourage of attacks completely obliterated his ship until there wasn't even a splinter of it left.

"MY SHIP!" Bluebeard screamed. The occupants of the Sunny smiled victoriously. Usopp, Chopper, Black Star and Patty were all jumping up and down, with their eyes sparkling.

"AWESOOOOOOOME~!" they cheered.

"Hey is that a star?" Blair pointed. The group looked up to see something glowing about twenty feet above them. It is revealed to be Luffy, who's entire being is glowing with adoration, his eyes watering and sparkling and his mouth drooling.

"Luffy what's happening to you?!" Crona said his eyes squinted from the light.

"BEAMS~! BEAMS EVERYWHERE~!" Luffy sobbed joyfully at the spectacle that had just occurred. But then almost instantly the wind began to pick up and large waves began to form, before a huge burst of rain poured down on them all.

"No! The monsoon's here! GUYS YOU HAVE TO FINISH THIS BEFORE WE CAPSIZE!" Nami called.

"You. ALL OF YOU!" Bluebeard snarled in a voice that completely surpassed anger, fury and downright rage. "I WON'T LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU FREAKS! I BURN YOU ALL ALIVE!" He then flew towards the Sunny, preparing to set the ship aflame. **BAM!** His gut was met a haki-coated fist knocking him away from the Sunny, before he turned to see Luffy and Crona glaring at him, the former still holding Soul in his grasp and the latter still holding Luffy securely, Ragnarok's wings beating at the air.

"You won't touch any of them. This ends NOW!" Luffy roared as the pair flew at Bluebeard.

"**CHAIN RESONANCE!**" Luffy, Soul, Crona and Ragnarok all yelled in unison, before they became enveloped in an azure blue aura. Luffy reeled Soul back, before the scythe's head morphed into a large jagged red crystal blade with golden patterns, and where Soul's eye should have been, was the Straw-Hat insignia. What's more black blood then began to seep over Luffy before morphing into a large black Captain's coat, the Epaulette (those fancy shoulder pieces) replaced with two Ragnarok heads and his hat was also dyed black by the blood and the brim grew longer and more pointed so it looked more like Mihawk's.

"PIRATE HUNTER~!" Luffy thundered in time with the storm as he shot at Bluebeard. **SLASH!** In a single sweep he sliced through the dragon-man and shot several feet passed him before stopping in mid-air and waited for the aftermath. Bluebeard still remained in the air as he looked rather surprised, until he noticed a large gash began to spread across his torso which continued to widen before his body split in two.

"My crew…I'm coming…." He whispered before his body too, turned jet black and twisted away leaving his soul behind. It was official. Jules 'Bluebeard' Blake: devourer of the occupants of True Blood island…was no more.

To be continued…

* * *

Review please!


	11. The Bluebeard Pirates Defeated!

**Ch. 11- The Bluebeard Pirates Defeated! Celebrating Victory!**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Soul Eater © Atsushi Okubo

Blizzard, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Shino Kurohana, Mark and Will Clayborne, Bluebeard Pirates © Me

* * *

"YES~!" Luffy cheered, still in his Pirate Hunter 'outfit'. "WE WON~!"

"_YES!"_ Soul shouted. _"I KNEW WE COULD DO IT!"_

"Oh, that was close," said Crona. "I almost thought that we weren't gonna pull it off. I don't think I could handle that."

"_Hey! Don't forget what we came for!"_ Ragnarok said.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said as he looked over to Bluebeard's soul. Soul, his scythe form returning to normal, reached his hand out and grabbed the glowing red orb.

"Another Kishin egg down the hatch," he said before he opened his mouth, preparing to swallow it.

"Soul, wait!" Luffy said. "We gotta bring that soul back to the barkeep guy on True Blood Island! He promised us a free table if we did!"

"GUYS!" Nami shouted. "GET BACK TO THE SHIP, NOW! HURRY, OR THE _SUNNY_ IS SUNK!"

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said. "Crona! Take us down!"

"Right!" Crona said.

With that, Crona, Luffy, Ragnarok, and Soul made their way back down to the _Sunny_. As they did, Luffy's Pirate Hunter outfit seemed to disappear until he back in his regular clothes.

"Ah, man," Luffy moaned. "I was hoping this would last longer!"

"No time for that, Luffy!" said Nami. "We gotta move! Now!"

"Oh, right!" Luffy shouted. "Franky! Coup de Burst, on the double!"

"You got it, Straw Hat!" Franky shouted at the helm. "Everyone, grab onto something and hang on SUPER tight!"

Everyone soon grabbed onto something: the railing, the tangerine trees, the swing tree, and the mast.

"Here we go!" Franky shouted. "Coup de…BURST~!"

**BOOM!** The _Sunny's_ rear cannon went off, sending the ship flying with all her passengers aboard while the monsoon raged on with Luffy, Patty, Black*Star, Ragnarok, Mark, and Will cheering the whole way.

XXX

**SPLOOSH!** The _Sunny_ landed in the waters near Dragon Fang Peak, away from the monsoon.

The Straw Hats and the DWMA Gang are safe from the violent storm.

"That was close," said Maka.

"You can say that again," agreed Nami.

"Anyway, I'm glad that's over," Soul said. "Now we can finally kiss this island goodbye."

"Wait!" Crona said. "We can't leave yet!"

"He's right," Zoro said. "There are lots of people on this island that Bluebeard has kept prisoner."

"Well, I'm sorry Crona," Franky said, "but I'm afraid we can't let them on _Sunny_ here. There's not enough room!"

"Wait! I think I might have an idea!" said Maka. "Robin? I need to borrow that mirror in yours and Zoro's room."

"Of course, Maka," said Robin.

And so, Maka headed over to Robin's vanity mirror and proceeded to right the Death Room's number. No soon had she done so that Lord Death's image soon appeared.

"Ah, Maka!" Lord Death said. "Good to see you again! So, what's the scoop?"

"We've completed our mission, Lord Death," Maka said. "Bluebeard's soul, as well as the souls of his crew, have all been reclaimed."

"Excellent!" Lord Death praised. "Well done! As I'd expect from all of you! So, are you ready to come home now?"

"NO WAIT!" Chopper cried as he ran up to the mirror. "Uh…no disrespect, Mr. Grim Reaper, sir, but I'm afraid Maka and her friends suffered injuries during their battle with Bluebeard. Maka broke her leg, Shino hurt his ankle, and Black*Star's ribs are cracked. I think they should stay for a few days to rest."

_Plus, that means they don't have to leave right away,_ Chopper thought.

"Of course," Lord Death said. "Their health comes first, after all."

"Lord Death, there's also another matter we need to discuss," said Maka. "You see, Bluebeard has been holding people captive on his hideout, Dragon Fang Peak, and we can't bring them all aboard the ship."

"Hmm…I see your problem," Lord Death said. "Perhaps I can make them a bridge portal so that they can return to their homes, safely."

"Thank you very much, Lord Death," Maka said gratefully.

"Wait!"

Just then, Spike entered.

"Lord Death, is my Mom there?!" she asked. "I need to talk to her!"

"She's right here, Sicily," Lord Death replied as he stepped aside, revealing Juliet behind him.

"Hi, Sicily!" Juliet said. "Congratulations on completing your mission!"

"Thanks, Mom," said Spike. "…Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" Juliet asked.

"Remember when I said that I wanted to let you know something, and then I said that I forgot?" Spike asked, almost guiltily.

"Yes," Juliet replied.

"…I didn't forget," Spike said. "The truth is…I didn't wanna tell you because I was afraid you'd be mad. You see…the reason why I didn't wanna come to school was because…I knew you were gonna be our new teacher and…I was embarrassed! There, I said it!"

A pause came.

"…well?" Spike asked. "Aren't you gonna yell at me or something? Ground me for life?!"

"No, Sicily," said Juliet.

"Uh…I'm sorry?" asked Spike.

"Sicily…I'm actually glad you told me," said Juliet. "It means that you're being honest, even though you know it might hurt my feelings."

"…you were probably hurt when I didn't come to class, weren't you?" Spike asked.

"I was a bit disappointed," Juliet said.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Spike apologized.

"That's all right, dear," Juliet as she placed her hand on the glass, and Spike did the same, "but next time, you should just come up and tell me the truth instead of waiting so long."

"I know," Spike said, "and I promise I'll do that from now on, and I'll come to class every day!"

Juliet just chuckled.

"All right, honey," she said. "I'll see you when you get home then."

"Bye, Mom," Spike said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Sicily," Juliet said.

With that, Spike stepped away from the mirror, allowing Lord Death to take over.

"Now then," said Lord Death. "I'm sure there are more mirrors around their somewhere. If you can set up a mirror where the prisoners, I can make them a portal back to True Blood Island!"

"Thank you Lord Death," Maka said.

XXX

Inside the "belly" of the giant stone dragon…

"Okay, everyone make a single-file line!" Kid ordered.

"Soon, you'll all be home!" Patty added.

"No pushing, please!" Shino chimed in.

The Straw Hats and the DWMA Gang had freed all of Bluebeard's prisoners, and are now sending them through a single mirror, which Lord Death is using as a bridge portal back to their homes. One-by-one, the former prisoners made their way through the mirror, verbally giving gratitude as they did. Before long, only one remained: little Rachel.

"Okay, Rachel," Crona said. "Just go through the mirror, and you'll be home."

Rachel smiled gratefully at Crona before she threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you, Crona," she said before she turned to the others. "Thank you, everyone!"

"No problem, kid," Luffy said. "Now go on. Get going."

"Yeah," Soul agreed. "Your parents are probably worried sick."

Rachel smiled before she walked through the mirror, and not long after…the portal closed.

"Finally, it's over," Usopp said.

"Not quite," Luffy said. "There's still one thing we gotta take care of, once we get back to True Blood!"

"What's that, Luffy?" Mark asked.

Luffy simply grinned.

"You'll see," he answered.

XXX

After the monsoon ended, the Straw Hats and the DWMA Gang sailed all the way back to True Blood Island, and once they got there…well, they were soon greeted by the whole town cheering.

"It's them! The people who freed our friends and family!"

"Our heroes~!"

"Thank you so much~!"

"Ugh…" Luffy groaned. "I hate being called a hero. That means I gotta share my meat with everybody."

"Oh, Luffy," Nami muttered in irritation.

"Anyway, let's go back to that bar!" Luffy said. "I'm starving, and that old guy owes me a free table!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Shino asked. "Let's get going!"

With that, the group headed over to The Tourniquet, and once they got there, they are soon met by Carl, as well as several other customers. However, what really surprised everyone is that Rachel is there!

"Crona!" Rachel cried as she ran to hug him.

"Hi, Rachel," Crona greeted her.

Soon, a woman in her early 30s and a man in his mid-30s approached the group.

"So you're Crona," said the man. "I'm Malachi, Rachel's father."

"And I'm Trisha," said the woman. "I'm Rachel's mother. We can't thank you enough for saving our little girl from those savages!"

"We're just doing our job, ma'am," Maka said.

"Hey, Luffy!" Carl called. "Did you really do it? I know all these people have been saying it, but you know I won't believe it until you bring me the proof."

"Soul?" Luffy asked with a grin.

Soul smirked before he walked passed Luffy and held out…Bluebeard's soul.

"Read 'em and weep," he said.

"So that's Bluebeard's soul," Carl mused in surprise. "Judging by the look of it, it looks completely tainted with evil!"

"You got that right," said Soul before he raised the Kishin egg over his mouth. "And now for the moment I've been waiting for."

Soul opened his mouth wide and dropped the soul into his mouth. **GULP!** After the scythe chewed the soul, he swallowed and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Hey, Carl!" Luffy said. "How about that free table, huh?!"

"Of course!" said Carl. "Hell, you can even eat as much as you want! It's on the house!"

"REALLY?!" Luffy asked, excitedly. "WHOO-HOOO! C'MON GUYS! IT'S PARTY TIME~!"

"YEAH~!" everyone cheered and with that being said, the festivities had fully begun.

Luffy stuffed his face with as much as food as he possibly could, and Nami, Zoro, and Black*Star are having a drinking contest…and Nami was winning.

"What's wrong, boys?" Nami asked. "Can't keep up?"

"She…isn't human…!" Black*Star said, already drunk after his 3rd mug.

"I know," said Zoro, who is down to his tenth mug.

Nami just laughed, almost drunkenly.

Meanwhile, Shino and Spike are sitting at a table, having a bit of a conversation.

"So that's why you didn't wanna come to class?" asked Shino. "Because you were afraid Miss Juliet would embarrass you?"

"If that you were mom, you'd be embarrassed too," Spike said, "even though your mom is…"

"Yeah," Shino said, not liking to talk about his mother's death at the hands of Arachne's minions and how he lost his left eye when he attempted to save her.

(A/N: MAJOR SPOILER! SORRY!)

"Sorry, Shino," said Spike.

"Nah, don't worry about it," said Shino. "So…what are you gonna do when we get home?"

"Take a bath, for starters," Spike answered, "and then I'm gonna drop Mark and Will at Mom's place…and give Mom a big hug."

Shino smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea," said the Scythe Meister.

Sanji and Blair are dancing together while Brook played a lively tune on his violin.

"You dance divinely, Blair," Sanji said.

"Thanks, Sanji," Blair said with a giggle. "You're not too bad yourself."

Blair sighed and rested her head into Sanji's shoulder.

"I wish I could stay here with you forever," she said. "Too bad I gotta go home with the others. I'll really miss you."

"Ah, and I'll miss you, as well, Blair my pet," Sanji said before he put Blair into a dip, "but know this. No matter how far away I am, just call for me, your knight in shining armor, and I'll come running to your rescue."

Blair giggled as Sanji pulled her up.

"Oh, Sanji," she said.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki is sitting at the table with Will in her lap, and she noticed that the little werewolf appeared to be forlorn.

"What's wrong, Will?" Tsubaki asked.

"Nothing," Will answered, sadly.

"Sure doesn't sound like nothing," said Tsubaki. "C'mon, what's the matter?"

"…when I found out you like Black*Star instead of me," Will began, "I got kind of upset because that meant I couldn't tell you how I feel. Tsubaki…I always had a bit of a crush on you since the day I met you."

"Oh, I see," Tsubaki said. "I see."

She then gently cupped Will's chin in her hand.

"Will, I'm sorry," she said, "but…just because I like Black*Star doesn't mean we can't be friends. Okay?"

Will smiled and said, "Okay, Tsubaki."

Tsubaki smiled before she leaned down and **smooch!** She kissed Will on his cheek, making him blush a bright red and his tail wag a million times a minute. Suddenly, **SPLAT!** A gooey, orange substance was thrown at Will's face.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Mark laughed. "PUMPKIN PIE IN YOUR FACE!"

"MARK!" Will shouted as he chased his brother. "I'M GONNA GET YOU!"

Tsubaki couldn't help but laugh at the twins' antics.

"YOHOHOHOHO~!" Brook chortled. "Gather 'round, everyone, and join Soul and I in a song!"

The gang looked over and saw Soul sitting at a piano.

"Soul?" Maka asked. "I thought you don't like playing for an audience!"

"I don't," Soul answered, "but Brook talked me into it."

Brook then held up his violin and began to tap his foot three, and then began to play the tune of a familiar song with Soul playing along, and not long after, the skeleton began to sing.

"**Yo-ho-ho-ho~, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho~, yo-ho-ho-ho~!"**

Soon, everyone began to join in.

"**Yo-ho-ho-ho~, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho~, yo-ho-ho-ho~!"**

"**We'll deliver Binks' Sake**

**Ocean breeze shall guide the way**

**Sailing forth atop the waves**

**Across the briny deep~!**

**The evening sun is dancing high**

**Painting circles in the sky!**

**As it sinks, the song of birds**

**Ring out across the sea~!"**

As they sang, Black*Star, who seemed to be over how much alcohol he drank, had both Mark and Will on his shoulders while Kid, Liz, and Patty tried to do the Can-Can, and Sanji and Blair are dancing hand-in-hand.

"**The hometown port is far behind**

**Out of sight but not of mind**

**Smiling wide our joyous song**

**Will boom towards the shore~!**

**Waves crash and they lose their hold**

**On sprays of silver and of gold**

**We pass this by upon our course**

**Towards the ocean's end~!"**

As they song continued, Crona and Ragnarok couldn't help but bob their heads to the music a little, for they too found themselves enjoying the song, as well. Luffy and Nami had begun to dance along to the song, and Maka and Tsubaki are clapping their hands to the music.

"**We'll deliver Binks' Sake**

**Causing trouble all the way**

**The pirate's life upon the sea**

**We've chosen one and all~!"**

Shino is dancing with his arms hooked around Spike and Usopp as they continued to sing, and Franky and Chopper are doing the little basket-and-chopsticks dance, again, while Zoro had Robin sitting in his lap as they sang, and of course, Blizzard howled along (badly).

"**When it's time to rest our heads**

**The sea's our pillows and our beds**

**We proudly bear the skull and bones**

**Upon our flags and sails~!**

**Raging in the far-off sky**

**A violent tempest we can spy**

**Beat the drums, our merry ship**

**Shall dance atop the waves~!**

**Don't let fear control your head**

**Or you may find yourself dead**

**So hold your ground and come the morn**

**You'll greet the rising sun~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!"**

Then, everyone began to sing softly.

"**We'll deliver Binks' Sake**

**All along its merry way**

**Our journey shall take weeks and days**

**But never feel too long~**

**Waving our goodbyes to friends**

**Whom we'll never see again**

**Don't despair for they'll be there**

**Forever in our dreams~!"**

Soon, everyone in the whole bar began to sing, even Carl and Rachel.

"**We'll deliver Binks' Sake**

**Booming song shall clear the way**

**Adventure HO! We'll go while singing**

**Songs about the sea~!**

**One day we'll meet Davy Jones**

**And on that day, we'll turn to bones**

**Until that day, we'll wander in our**

**Never-ending tale~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho~!"**

As the song came to an end, everyone burst into applause as Brook and Soul both took a bow.

"Well done, Soul!" Brook praised.

"Thanks," Soul said. "This was actually pretty cool."

"YOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed.

As everyone continued cheering, Nami noticed that Crona and Maka had walked out the door while everyone's attention was diverted to Soul and Brook.

"That's odd," Nami said.

"You noticed that, too, huh?"

Nami turned to see Spike.

"Yeah," Nami said. "Where do you think they're going?"

"Only one way to find out," said Spike with a smirk.

XXX

On a hill in a park nearby the town, Crona and Maka sat there, staring up at the full moon.

"…what a day, huh?" Maka asked.

"Yeah," Crona answered.

Behind some bushes, Nami, Spike, and surprisingly Luffy are there, peeking through the leaves.

"Luffy, why did you come along with us?" Nami whispered.

"I wanted to see how Crona and Maka hit it off," Luffy answered, softly.

"This is it," Spike whispered, excitedly. "This has got to be Crona's biggest milestone, ever! No way am I gonna miss this!"

Back on the hill, Maka and Crona are still talking.

"Everything is so different here," said Maka.

"Yeah," Crona said. "Even the sun and the moon are different. The sun doesn't laugh and the moon doesn't bleed when someone dies."

"Yeah…but it's a very pretty moon," Maka said.

"Yeah," Crona agreed before he turned to look at Maka, "but it's not as pretty as you."

A pause…but then, the two Meisters leaned closely together. Luffy, Nami, and Spike gasped quietly.

"This is it…this is it…!" Nami whispered.

"C'mon, Crona…!" Luffy whispered.

"You can do this, little brother…!" Spike whispered. "You can do this!"

Before they realized…Crona and Maka's lips locked together in a kiss, much to Luffy's, Nami's, and Spike's joy.

_So this is what true love is like,_ Crona thought. _…I really think I can deal with this._

As quickly they kissed, they broke away.

"That was…amazing, Maka," said Crona, smiling and blushing.

"Yeah, it sure was," Maka agreed. "Also…Luffy, Nami, Spike! You can stop hiding, now!"

Luffy, Nami, and Spike came out of their hiding places.

"Dammit, I forgot she could sense our Soul Wavelengths," Spike cursed.

"You knew we were here the whole time, huh?" asked Nami.

"I did," said Maka with a knowing smile, "but I decided to let you guys go ahead and have your fun."

"Ah, who cares," said Spike before she ran up to Crona and embraced him. "I'm so proud of you, Crona!"

"Thank you, Spike," Crona said as he hugged his big sister.

"And good for you, too, Maka," said Nami as she put a hand on Maka's shoulder.

"Thanks, Nami," Maka said. "I'm actually proud of myself for letting Crona know how I feel…and I think Crona is, too."

"Yeah…and it's all thanks to Luffy," Crona said. "He's the one who I should really be grateful, since he's the one who said I should tell Maka how I feel. Right, Luffy?"

No answer.

"Luffy?" Spike called.

"He's gone," Maka said. "Where'd he go, that fast?"

Nami spotted Luffy, heading towards the park entrance…where Soul is waiting.

"Oh, look," said Nami. "Soul's here."

"I wonder where they're going," Maka said as she watched the two walk away.

XXX

Luffy and Soul walked down an open street together through town. There aren't many people out on the streets, either because most of them are at the Tourniquet, in bed for the night already, or some of them haven't gotten the news that Bluebeard has been defeated and are still hiding in their homes.

"So what made you leave the party?" Luffy asked.

"Ah, it got pretty crowded," Soul said. "Besides, I needed air."

"Ah," Luffy said. "Hey, Soul?"

"Hmm?" Soul hummed, quizzically.

"You and Maka and everyone else…you're all gonna be leaving as soon as Maka, Shino, and Black*Star are all better, aren't you?" Luffy asked.

Soul heaved a sigh.

"Luffy…you know we're not from this world," he said. "I know you probably want us to stay and all, but-"

"No, I don't want you to stay," Luffy said. "I know you guys aren't from around here…and Nami did say that you guys have to go home…" he then turned to Soul and smiled, "but I'm fine with it!"

Soul stared at Luffy in slight surprise.

"Although…I gotta admit," Luffy said, his smile falling just a bit, "I am gonna be sad when you have to go. After all…I never had a friend like you, Soul."

"…You consider me a friend?" Soul asked.

"Well, yeah," Luffy said. "I always have. What else would I consider you?"

Soul seemed even more surprised at this, but then he smiled at Luffy, who smiled back at him.

"Thank, Luffy," Soul said.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed.

_**~One week later~**_

"Well, Maka, it's good to see you're doing better."

"Thank you, Lord Death."

"I guess this means you're ready to come home then, hmm?" Lord Death asked.

"That's right."

After one whole week of recovering from the injuries they had sustained during their battle with the Bluebeard pirates, it is finally time for the DWMA Gang…to head home.

The gang stood on the _Thousand Sunny_, in front of a mirror that Nami had set up for them, and Blair, saying her last goodbyes, held Sanji's face into her busty chest.

"Oh, Sanji~!" Blair cried. "I'm gonna miss you~!"

As much as Sanji loved the view…he pulled away from Blair and held her hands in his.

"Ah, Blair," said Sanji. "Parting is such sweet sorrow…but know this. No matter how much time has passed, I, Sanji, your Eternal Knight of Love, shall be waiting an eternity for your return! That…is a promise!"

"Oh, Sanji," Blair said, lovingly.

Mark made a gagging noise as he pointed his finger to his mouth, and then he and Will laughed…until Spike grabbed them and hoisted them up by their tails.

"All right, you chuckleheads," Spike said. "You've had your fun. Now it's time for us to get going."

"Thanks for letting us stay," Shino said. "Maybe someday, we can return the favor."

"Your friendship is reward enough," Robin said, kindly.

"Hey, Kid," said Usopp. "If we do see each other than, maybe we can have target practice, again."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Kid said. "If we ever do happen to meet again, I'll look forward to it."

"Yeah, but next time," Franky began, "take it easy on the symmetry thing."

The Thompson Sisters are saying their goodbyes to Blizzard and Chopper.

"We're really gonna miss you guys," said Liz, holding Chopper in her arms.

"Yeah! Especially you, Blizzard!" Patty said. "You're so big and cuddly!"

Blizzard gave Patty a big loving doggy kiss.

"We're gonna miss you, too," said Chopper.

"Hey, Zoro!" said Black*Star. "Next time we meet, we should have us another rematch!"

"You got it," said Zoro with a smirk.

Tsubaki chuckled as she held Black*Star's hand, and Black*Star smiled at her.

"We've got a lot of training to do when we get home, Tsubaki!" said Black*Star.

"Right," Tsubaki agreed.

"All I wanna do when I get back is do nothing but eat candy, candy, and more candy!" Ragnarok said.

"Don't be surprised if you lose all your teeth," Spike said in a deadpanned tone.

"Whatever," Soul said. "I'm just glad this whole Bluebeard mess is over. I just wanna go home and take a nice hot shower."

"And maybe Crona and I will go out after we get home, huh?" Maka asked.

Crona just blushed and smiled. Maka knew it would take some time for him to get used to this sort of relationship.

"Take it slow," advised Nami. "That's the key."

"Thanks, Nami," Maka said. "We certainly."

"Well, we better get going then," Shino said.

Maka sighed before she turned to look at Luffy, who stared at her.

"Well…I guess this is goodbye," the Scythe Meister said.

"Don't say goodbye!" Luffy said. "You only say that if you're never gonna see somebody again…and I wanna see you guys, again!"

Maka smiled at Luffy before she walked up and pulled him into a friendly embrace, which Luffy returned, and since Nami knew that Maka was only being a friend, she didn't get jealous.

"See you later, Luffy," Maka said…a single tear escaping from her eye.

"You, too," Luffy said, a tear falling from his eye, as well.

After a moment, the two pulled away from each other…and the DWMA Gang began to walk through the mirror.

"Hey, Luffy!" Soul called, getting the captain's attention. "Good luck with your dream."

Luffy smiled and said, "You bet! Good luck with yours!"

Soul smirked before he turned and followed his friends through the mirror, and as they had all gone through…the portal closed behind them, thus sending the DWMA Gang back home.

A pause, but then Nami heard a soft sob. She glanced at Luffy, who is chewing his lip as tears cascaded from his eyes.

"I miss them already," he said as he choked back another sob.

"Oh, Luffy," Nami said as she held her captain in a comforting embrace. "I know. I miss them already, too."

"That doesn't mean they won't be back, right?" Usopp asked.

"And if they do come back, we'll be the first to give them a warm welcome," said Zoro.

Luffy smiled and wiped away his tears, and then he smiled.

"You're right," he said before he stood up proudly.

"All right, you guys!" he shouted. "Now that those Bluebeard Pirates are finished, let's set sail!"

"Yeah~!" the Straw Hats shouted.

**GRRUUUUUUUUMBLE!** Luffy's tummy let out a huge growl.

"But first, some lunch!" Luffy said. "Hey, Sanji! Food!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it all before," Sanji said as he headed to the kitchen.

And so, with the Bluebeard Pirates finally defeated, the DWMA Gang's mission was complete and they headed for home, and after having their lunch, the Straw Hats set sail from True Blood Island and continued their voyage through the New World. As they did, Luffy remained confident that this wouldn't be the last time he and the Straw Hats would see their new friends.

**THE END**

* * *

Finally! I'm finished! I've been working on this since July!

Anyway, this was really fun what me and yellowpikmin88 did together, and I hope we get to do something like this again!

Review, please!


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